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PRINCIPLES 



OF 



Domestic Science; 



AS APPLIED TO THE 



DUTIES AND PLEASURES OF HOME. 



A TEXT-BOOK 

FOR THE USE OF YOUNG LADIES IN SCHOOLS, SEMINARIES, 

AND COLLEGES. 



BT 

CATHARINE E. BEEGEEE 

AND 

EABRIET BEEGEEB 8T0WE. 




NEW-YORK : " 
J. B. FORD AND COMPANY. 

1870. 






45" 



Entered, according to Act of Congi*ess, in the year 1870, by 

J. B. FORD & CO., 

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District 

of New-York. 



9at. Offloo Lib. 
«^»Hlt«l4. 



cJ6'^^t^ 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



INTnOBTJGTION. 



The cliief cause of woman's disabilities and suflPerings, that women are 
•not trained, as men are, for their peculiar duties — Aim of this volume 
to elevate the honor and remuneration of domestic employment — Wo- 
man's duties, and her utter lack of training for them — Qualifications of 
the writers of this volume to teach the matters proposed — Experience 
and study of woman's work — Conviction of the dignity and importance 
of it — The great social and moral power in her keeping — The princi- 
ples and teachings of Jesus Christ the true basis of woman's rights and 
duties. — Pages 13-16. 

I. 

THE CHRISTIAN' FAMILY, 

Object of the Family State — Duty of the elder and stronger to raise the 
younger, weaker, and more ignorant to an equality of advantages — Dis- 
cipline of the family — The example' of Christ one of self-sacrifice as 
man's elder brother— His assumption of a low estate — His manual labor 
— His trade — ^Woman the chief minister gf the family estate — Man the 
out-door laborer and provider — Labor and self-denial in the mutual re- 
lations of home-life, honorable, healthful, economical, enjoyable, and 
Christian. — Pages 17-21. 

n. 

A CHRISTIAN HOUSE. 

True wisdom in building a home — Necessity of economizing time, labor, 
and expense, by the close packing of conveniences — Plan of a model cot- 
tage — PropoHions — Piazzas — Entry — Stairs and landings — Large room 
— Movable screen — Convenient bedsteads — A good mattress — A cheap 
and convenient ottoman — Kitchen and stove-room — The stove-room and 
its arrangements — Second or attic story — Closets, corner dressing-tables, 
windows, balconies, water and earth-closets, shoe-bag, piece-bag — ^Base- 
ment, closets, refrigerator, washtubs, etc. — Laundry — General wood- 
work — Conservatories — Average estimate of cost. — Pages 22-39. 



II CONTENTS. 



ni. 

A HEALTHFUL HOME. 

Hoiiseliold murder — Poisoning and starvation the inevitable result of bad 
air in public halls and private homes — Good air as needful as go'od 
food — Structure and operations of the lungs and their capillaries and 
air-cells — How people in a confined room will deprive the air of oxy- 
gen and overload it with refuse carbonic acid — Starvation of the living 

• body deprived of oxygen — The skin and its twenty-eight miles of per- 
spiratory tubes — Reciprpcal action of plants and animals — Historical 
examples of foul-air poisoning — Outward effects of habitual breathing 
of bad air — Quotations from scientific authorities. — Pages 40-53. 

IV. , 

SCIENTIFIC DOMESTIC VENTILATION 

An open fireplace secures due ventilation — Evils of substituting air-tight 
stoves and furnace heating — Tendency of warm air to rise and of cool 
air to sink — Ventilation of mines — Ignorance of architects — Poor venti- 
lation in most houses — Mode of ventilating laboratories — Creation of a 
current of warm air in a flue open at top and bottom of the room — Flue 
to be built into chimney : method of utilizing it. — Pages 54-59. 

V. 

STOVES, FURNACES, AND CHIMNEYS. 

The general properties of heat, conduction, convection, radiation, reflec- 
tion — Cooking done by radiation the simplest but most wasteful mode : 
by convection (as in stoves and furnaces) the cheapest — The range — The 
model cooking-stove — Interior arrangements and principles — Contrivan- 
ces for economizing heat, labor, time, fuel, trouble, and expense— Its 
durability, simplicity, etc. — Chimneys : why they smoke and how to 
cure them— Furnaces : the dryness of their heat — Necessity of moisture 
in warm air — How to obtain and regulate it. — Pages 60-75. 

HOME DECORATION 

Significance of beauty in making home attractive and useful in education 
— Exemplification of economical and tasteful furniture — The carpet, 
lounge, lambrequins, curtains, ottomans, easy -chair, centre-table — 
Money left for pictures — Chromos — Pretty frames — -Engravings — Statu- 
ettes — Educatory influence of works of art — Natural adornments — Mate- 
rials in the woods and fields — Parlor-gardens — Hanging baskets — Fern- 
shields — Ivy, its beauty and tractableness — Window, with flowers, vines, 



CON'TENTS. m 



and pretty plants — Rustic stand for flowers — Ward's case— H'ow to make 
it economically — Bowls and vases of rustic work for growing plants — 
Ferns, liow and when to gather them — General remarks. — Pages 
76-93. 

TII. 

THE CABE OF HEALTH. 

Importance of some knowledge of the body and its needs — Fearful re- 
sponsibility of entering upon domestic duties in ignorance — The funda- 
mental vital principle — Cell-life — Wonders of the microscope — Cell- 
multiplication — Constant interplay of decay and growth necessary to 
life — The red and white cells of the blood — Secreting and converting 
power — The nervous system — The brain and the nerves — Structural 
arrangement and functions — The ganglionic system — The nervous fluid 
— Necessity of properly apportioned exercise to nerves of sensation and 
of motion — Evils of excessive or insufiicient exercise — Equal develop- 
ment of th« whole. — Pages 94-101. 



vni. 

DOMESTIC EXEIIGI8E. 

Connection of muscles and nerves — Microscopic cellular muscular fibre — 
Its mode of action — Dependence on the nerves of voluntary and involun- 
tary motion — How exercise of muscles quickens circulation of the blood 
which maintains all the processes of life — Dependence of equilibrium 
upon proper muscular activity — Importance of securing exercise that 
will interest the mind. — ^Pages 103-106. 

IX. 

HEALTHFUL FOOD. 

Apportionment of elements in food : carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, calci- 
um, iron, silicon, etc. — Large proportion of water in the human body — 
Dr. Holmes on the interchange of death and life — Constituent parts of a 
kernel of wheat — Comparison of difierent kinds of food— General direc- 
tions for diet — Hunger the proper guide and guard of appetite — Evils 
of over-eating — Structure and operations of the stomach — Times and 
quantity for eating — Stimulating and nourishing food — Americans eat 
too much meat — Wholesome effects of Lenten fasting — Matter and 
manner of eating — Causes of debilitation from misuse of food. — Pages 
107-122. 



iv CONTENTS. 



X. 

HEALTHFUL DIIINK8. 



Stimulating drinks not necessary — Their immediate evil effects upon 
the human body and tendency to grow into habitual desires— The ar- 
guments for and against stimulus — Microscopic revelations of the ef- 
fects of alcohol on the cellular tissue of the brain— Opinions of high 
scientific authorities against its use— No need of resorting to stimu- 
lants either for refreshment, nourishment, or pleasure — Tea and coffee 
an extensive cause of much nervous debility and suffering— Tend to 
wasteful use in the kitchen — Are seldom agreeable at first to children 
— Are dangerous to sensitive, nervous organizations, and should be at 
least regulated — Hot drinks unwholesome, debilitating, and destructive 
to teeth, throat, and stomach— Warm drinks agreeable and not un- 
healthful — Cold drinks not to be too freely used during meals— Drink- 
ing while eating always injurious to digestion. — Pages 123-132. 



XI. 

CLEANLINESS. 

Health and comfort depend on cleanhness — Scientific treatment of the 
skin, the most complicated organ of the body — Structure and arrange- 
ment of the skin, its layers, cells, nerves, capillaries, absorbents, oil- 
tubes, perspiration-tubes, etc. — The mucous membrane — Phlegm — The 
secreting organs — The liver, kidney, pancreas, salivary and lachrymal 
glands — Sympathetic connection of all the bodily organs — Intimate con- 
nection of the skin with all the other organs — Proper mode of treating 
the skin — Experiment showing happy effects of good treatment. — 
Pages 133-139. 

xir. 

CLOTHING. 

Fashion attacks the very foundation of the body, the bones — Bones com- 
posed of animal and mineral elements — General construction and ar- 
rangement — Health of bones dependent on nourishment and exercise of 
body — Spine — Distortions produced by tight dressing — Pressure of in- 
terior organs upon each other and upon the bones — Displacement of 
stomach, diaphragm, heart, intestines, and pelvic or lower organs: — Wo- 
men liable to peculiar distresses — A well-fitted jacket to replace stiff 
corsets, supporting the bust above and the under skirts below — Dress- 
ing of young children — Safe for a healthy child to wear as little cloth- 
ing as will make it thoroughly comfortable — Nature the guide — The 
very young and the very old need the most clothing. — Pages 140-147. 



CONTENTS. 



XIII. 

GOOD COOKING. 



Bad cooking prevalent in America — Abundance of excellent material 
— General management of food liere very wasteful and extravagant 
— Five great departments of Cookery — Bread — What it should be, 
how to spoil and how to make it — Different modes of aeration — Baking 
— Evils of liot bread. — Butter — Contrast between the butter of America 
and of European countries — How to make good butter. — Meat — General- 
ly used too newly killed — Lack of nicety in, butcher's work — Economy 
of French butchery, carving, and trimming — Modes of cooking meats — 
The frying-pan — True way of using it — The French art of making 
delicious soups and stews — Vegetables — Their number and variety in 
America — The potato — How to cook it, a simple yet difficult operation 
— Roasted, boiled, fried. — Tea — Warm table drinks generally — Coffee 
— Tea — Chocolate. — Confectionery — Ornamental cookery — ^Pastry, ices, 
jelUes.— Pages 148-167. 

XIV. 

EARLY RISING. 

A virtue peculiarly American and democratic— In aristocratic countries, 
labor considered degrading— The hours of sunlight generally devoted to 
labor by the working classes and to sleep by the indolent and wealthy — 
Sunlight necessary to health and growth whether of vegetables or ani- 
mals — Particularly needful for the sick — Substitution of artificial 
light and heat, by night, a great waste of money — Eight hours' 
sleep enough — Excessive sleep debilitating — Early rising necessary to a 
well-regulated family, to the amount of work to be done, to the commu- 
nity, to schools, and to all classes in American society. — Pages 168-173. 

XV. 

DOMESTIC MANNERS. 

Good manners the expression of benevolence in personal intercourse — 
Serious defects in manners of the Americans — Causes of abrupt manners 
to, be found in American life — Want of clear discrimination between 
men — Necessity for distinctions of superiority: and subordination — Im- 
portance that young mothers should seriously endeavor to remedy this 
defect, while educating their children — Democratic principle of equal 
rights to be applied, not to our own interests but to those of others — 
The same courtesy to be extended to all classes — Necessary distinctions 
arising from mutual relations to be observed — The strong to defer to 
the weak — Precedence yielded by men to women in America — Good 
manners must be cultivated in early life — Mutual relations of husband 
and wife — Parents and children — The rearing of children to courtesy — ' 
De Tocqueville on American manners. — Pages 173-185. 



Vi CONTENTS. 



XVI. 

GOOD TEMPER IN THE H0U8EKEEPEB. 

Easier for a lioufeeliold under the guidance of an equable temper in tlie 
mistress— Dissatisfied lool^s and sliarp tones destroy the comfort of 
system, neatness, and economy — Considerations to aid the housekeeper 
— Importance and dignity of her duties— Difficulties to be overcome — 
Good policy to calculate beforehand upon the derangement of well- 
arranged plans— Object of housekeeping, the comfort and well-being 
of the family — The endi should not be sacrificed to secure the means- 
Possible to refrain from angry tones— Mild speech most effective— Ex- 
emplification— Allowances to be made for servants and children— Power 
of religion to impart dignity and importance to the ordinary and petty- 
details of domestic life. — Pages 186-191. 

XVII. 

• HABITS OF SYSTEM AND OBDEB. 

Relative importance and difficulty of the duties a woman is called to per- 
form — Her duties not trivial — A habit of system and order necessary — 
Right apportionment of time — General principles — Christianity to be the 
foundation — Intellectual and social interests to be preferred to gratifica- 
tion of taste or appetite— Neglect of health a sin in the sight of God- 
Regular season of rest appointed by the Creator— Divisions of time — 
Systematic arrangement of house articles and other conveniences — 
Regular employment for each member of a family — Children — Family 
work— Forming habits of system— Early rising a very great aid — 
Due apportionment of time to the several duties. — Pages 192-202. 

XVIII. 

GIVING IN GHABITY. > 

No point of duty more difficult to fix by rule than charity — First consi- 
deration — Object for which we are placed in this world — Self-denying 
benevolence. — Second consideration — Natural principles not to be ex- 
terminated, but regulated and controlled. — Third consideration — Super- 
fluities sometimes, proper, and sometimes not. — Fourth consideration 

No rule of duty right for one and not for all — The opposite of this 

principle tested — Some use of superfluities necessary — Plan for keeping 
an account of necessities and superfluities — Untoward results of our 
actions do not always prove that we deserve blame — General princi- 
ples to guide in deciding upon objects of charity — Who are our neigh- 
■bors — The most in need to be first relieved — Not much need of charity 
for physical wants in this country — Associated charities— Indiscrimi- 
■ nate charity — Impropriety of judging the charities of others. — Pages 
203-214. ■ 



CONTENTS. VU 



XIX. 

ECONOMY OF TIME AND EXPENSES. 

Economj, value, an(f riglit apportionment of time — Laws appointed 
by God for the Jews — Christianity removes the restrictions laid on the 
Jews, but demands all our time to be devoted to our own best interests 
and the good of our fellow-men — Enjoyment connected with every 
duty — Various modes of economizing time— System and order — Unit- 
ing several objects in one employment — Odd intervals of time — Aiding 
others in economizing time — Economy in expenses — Contradictory no- 
tions—General principles in which all agree — Knowledge of income 
and expenses — Evils of want of system and forethought — Young ladies 
should early learn to be systematic and economical. — Pages 215-331. 



XX. 

HEALTH OF MIND. 

Intimate connection between the body and mind — Brain excited by im- 
proper stimulants taken into the stomachs-Mental faculties then affect- 
ed — Causes of mental disease — Want of oxygenized blood — Fresh air 
absolutely necessary — Excessive exercise of the intellect or feelings — 
Such attention to religion as prevents the performance of other duties, 
wrong — Unusual precocity in children usually the result of a diseased 
brain — Idiocy often the result, or the precocious child sinks below the 
average of mankind — Tliis evil yet prevalent in colleges and other semi- 
naries — A medical man necessary in every seminary — Some pupils 
always needing restraint in regard to study — A third cause of mental 
disease, the want of appropriate exercise of the various faculties of the 
mind — Extract from Dr. Combe — Beneficial results of active intellectual 
employments — Indications of a diseased mind. — Pages 233-238. 



XXI. 

THE CARE OF INFANTS. 

Herbert Spencer on the treatment of offspring — Absurdity of undertak- 
ing to rear children without any knowledge of how to do it — Foolish 
management of parents generally the cause of evils ascribed to Provi- 
dence — Errors of management during the first two years — Food of child 
and of mother — Warning as to use of too much medicine — Fresh air — 
Care of the skin — Dress — Sleep — Bathing — Change of air — Habits — 
Dangers of the teething period — Constipation— Diarrhea — Teething — 
How to relieve its dangers — Feverishness — Use of water. — Pages 329- 
338. 



Vlll CONTENTS. 



xxn. 

THE MANAGEMENT OF YOUNG CHILDIIEN. 

Physical education of cMldren — Animal diet to be* avoided for the very 
young — Result of treatment at Albany Orpban Asylum — Good ventila- 
tion of nurseries and schools — Moral training to consist in forming 
habits of submission, self-denial, and benevolence — General suggestions 
— Extremes of sternness and laxity to be avoided^ — Appreciation of 
childish desires and feelings — Sympathy — Partaking in games and 
employments — Inculcation of principles preferable to multiplication of 
commands — Rewards rather than penalties — Severe tones of voice — 
Children to be kept happy — Sensitive children — Self-denial — Deceit 
and honesty — Immodesty and delicacy — Dreadful penalties consequent 
upon youthful impurities — Religious training. — Pages 239-349. 



xxni. 

JDOMESTIG AMUSEMENTS AND SOCIAL DUTIES. 

Children need more amusement than older persons — Its obj ect, to afford rest 
and recreation to the mind and body — Example of Christ — No amuse- 
ments to be introduced that will tempt the weak or over-excite the 
young — Puritan customs — Work followed by play — Dramatic exercises, 
dancing, and festivity wholesomely enjoyed — The nine o'clock bell — The 
drama and the dance — Card-playing — Novel-reading — Taste for solid 
reading — Cultivation of fruits and flowers — Music — Collecting of shells, 
plants, and minerals — Games — Exercise of mechanical skill for boys — 
Sewing, cutting, and fitting — General suggestions — Social and domestic 
duties — Family attachments — Hospitality. — Pages 250-362. 



XXIV. 

CARE OF THE AGED. 

Preservation of the aged, designed to give opportimity for self-denial and 
loving care — Patience, sympathy, and labor for them to be regarded as 
privileges in a family — The young should respect and minister unto 
the aged — Treating them as valued members of the family — Engaging 
them in domestic games and sports — Reading aloud — Courteous atten- 
tion to their opinions — Assistance in retarding decay of faculties by 
helping them to exercise — Keeping up interest of the infirm in domestic 
affairs — Great care to preserve animal heat — Ingratitude to the aged, 
its baseness — Chinese regard for old age. — Pages 363-366. 



CONTENTS. ix 



xxy. 
TRE CARE OF SERVANTS. 



Origin of tlie Yankee term " help " — Days of good healtli and intelli- 
• gent liouse-keeping — Growth of wealth tends to multiply hired service 
— American young women should be trained in housekeeping for the 
guidance of ignorant and shiftless servants — Difficulty of teaching ser- 
vants — Reaction of society in favor of women's intellectuality, in 
danger of causing a new reaction — American girls should do more 
work — Social estimate of domestic service — Dearth of intelligent do 
mestic help — Proper mode of treating servants — General rules and 
special suggestions — Hints from experience — Woman's first " right," 
liberty to do what she can— Domestic duties not to be neglected for 
operations in other spheres — Servants to be treated with respect — Er- 
rors of heartless and of too indulgent employers — Mistresses of Ameri- 
can families necessarily missionaries and instructors. — Pages 367-290. 

XXVI. 

CARE OF TEE SICK. 

t*rominence ^iven to care and cure of the sick by our Saviour — Every 
woman should know what to do in the case of illness — Simple remedies 
best — Fasting and perspiration — Evils of constipation — Modes of re- 
lieving it — Remedies for colds — Unwise to tempt the appetite of the sick 
— Suggestion for the sick-room — Ventilation — Needful articles — The 
room, bed, and person of the patient to be kept neat — Care to preserve ani- 
mal warmth — The sick, the delicate, the aged — Food always to be care- 
fully prepared and neatly served — Little modes of refreshment — Im- 
plicit obedience to the physician — Care in purchasing medicines — Ex- 
hibition of cheerfulness, gentleness, and sympathy — Knowledge and ex- 
perience of mind — Lack of competent nurses — Failings of nurses — 
Sensitiveness of the sick — " Sisters of Charity," the reason why they 
are such excellent nurses — Illness in the family a providential oppoPr 
tunity of training children to love and usefulness. — Pages 291-301. 

XXVII. 

ACCIDENTS AND ANTIDOTES. 

Mode of treating cuts, wounds, severed arteries — Bad bruises to be bathed 
in hot water — Sprains treated with hot fomentation and rest — Burns 
cured by creosote, wood-soot, or flour — Drowning ; most approved mode 
of treatment — Poisohs and their antidotes — Soda, saleratus, potash, 
sulphuric or oxalic acid, lime or baryta, iodine or iodide of potassium, 
prussic acid, antimony, arsenic, lead, nitrate of silver, phosphorus, alco- 
hol, tobacco, opium, strychnia — Bleeding at the lungs, stomach, throat, 
nose — ^^ Accidents from lightning — Stupefaction, from coal-gas or foul 
air — Fire — Fainting — Coolness and presence of mind. — Pages 302-305 



CONTENTS. 



XXVIII. 

BEWING, GUTTING, AND MENDING. 

Division of family labor — Boys and girls both to be taught all kinds of 
home work— Instruction in sewing — Plan for schools — Use of scissors — 
Turning down — Basting — Overstitch — Hemming — Other kinds of stitch 
—Work-baskets — To make a frock — Patterns — Fitting — Lining — Thin 
silks — Figured and plain silks — Plaids — Stripes — General sugges- 
tions.— Pages 306-309. 

XXIX. 

WARMING AND VENTILATION 

Open fireplace nearest to natural mode by which earth is warded and 
ventilated — Origin of diseases — Necessity of pure air to life — Statistics 
— General principles of ventilation — Mode of Lewis Leeds — ^Ventilation 
of buildings planned in this work — The piire-air conductor — The foul- 
air exhausting-flue — Stoves — Detailed arrangements — Warming — Econ- 
omy of time, labor, and expense in the cottage plan — ^After all schemes, 
the open fireplace the best. — Pages 310-321. 

XXX. 

CABE OF THE IGNOBANT, THE HOMELESS, THE HELP- 
LESS, AND THE VICIOUS 

The old and new dispensations — Christ's mission and our duty — The 
worldly and the Christian family — Evils of public institutions — Chris- 
tian characteristics — Plans for economical benevolence — Detailed de- 
scription — Parlor arrangements — Compactness — General advantages — 
Suggestions to the wealthy — The nobler view — The truer calling — The 
better part.— Pages 822-337. 

XXXI. 

THE CHBISTIAN NEIGHBORHOOD. 

Spirit of Christian Missions — Present organizations under church direc- 
tion too mechanical — Christian family influence the true instrument of 
Gospel propagation — Practical suggestions for gathering a Christian 
family in neglected neighborhoods — Plan of church, school-house, and 
family-dwelling in one building — Mode of use for various purposes — 
Nucleus and gathering of a family— Christian work for Christian 
women — Children — Orphans — Servants — Neglected ones— Household 
training — Roman Catholic Nuns — The South — The West — The ne- 
glected interior of older States — Power of such examples.— Pages 
338-345. 

APPEAL TO TEACHEBS AND PUPILS.— F&ges 347-359. 
QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIVE HINTS.— Psiges 361-38L 



PRmciPLES OF Domestic Science. 



INTRODUCTION. 

The authors of tMs volume, while they sympathize with 
every honest effort to relieve the disabilities and sufferings 
of their sex, are confident that the chief cause of these 
evils is the fact that the honor and duties of the family 
state are not duly appreciated, that women are not trained 
for these duties as men are trained for their trades and 
professions, and that, as the consequence, family labor is 
poorly done, poorly paid, and regarded as menial and dis- 
graceful. 

To be the nurse of young children, a cook, or a house- 
maid, is regarded as the lowest and last resort of poverty, 
and one which no woman of culture and position can as- 
sume without loss of caste and respectability. 

It is the aim of this volume to elevate both the honor 
and the remuneration of all the employments that sustain 
the many difficult and sacred duties of the family state, 
and thus to render each department of woman's true pro- 
fession as much desired and respected as are the most 
honored professions of men. 

When the other sex are to be instructed in law, medi- 
cine, or 'divinity, they are favored with numerous institu- 
tions richly endowed, with teachers of the highest talents 
and acquirements, with extensive libraries, and abundant 
and costly apparatus. With such advantages they devote 



14 IMPORTANCE OF WOMAN'S DUTIES. 



nearly ten of the best years of life to preparing themselves 
for their profession ; and to secure the public from nn quali- 
fied members of these professions, none can enter tliem 
until examined by a competent body, who certify to their 
due preparation for their duties. 

Woman's profession embraces the care and nursing of 
the body in the critical periods of infancy and sickness, 
the training of the human mind in the most impressible 
period of childhood, the instruction and control of servants, 
and most of the government and economies of the family 
state. These duties of woman are as sacred and important 
as any ordained to man ; and yet no such advantages for 
preparation have been accorded to her, nor is there any 
qualified body to certify the public that a woman is duly 
prepared to give proper instruction in her profession. 

This unfortunate want, and also the questions frequently 
asked concerning the domestic qualifications of both the 
authors of this work-, who have formerly written upon such 
topics, make it needful to give some account of the advan- 
tages they have enjoyed in preparation for the important 
ofiice assumed as teachers of woman's domestic duties. 

The sister whose name is subscribed is the eldest of nine 
children by her own mother, and of four by her step-mo- 
ther ; and having a natural love for children, she found it 
a pleasure as well as a duty to aid in the care of infancy 
and childhood. At sixteen, she was deprived of a mother, 
who was remarkable not only for intelligence and culture, 
but for a natural taste and skill in domestic handicraft. 
Her place was awhile filled by an aunt remarkable for her 
habits of neatness and order, and especially for her econo- 
my. She was, in the course of time, replaced by a step- 
mother, who had been accustomed to a superior style of 
housekeeping, and was an expert in all departments of do- 
\nestic administration. i 

Under these successive housekeepers, the writer learned 
not only to perform in the most approved manner all the 



QUALIFICATIONS OF THE PBESENT AUTHORS. 15 



manual employments of domestic life, but to honor and 
enjoy these duties. 

' At twenty-three, she commenced the institution which 
ever since has flourished as " The Hartford Female Semi- 
nary," where, at the age of twelve, the sister now united 
with her in the authorship of this work, became her pupil, 
and, after a few years, her associate. The removal of the 
family to the West, and failure of health, ended a connec- 
tion with the Hartford Seminary, and originated a similar 
one in Cincinnati, of which the younger authoress of this 
work was associate principal till her marriage, where, in 
addition to the early advantages enumerated, she gained 
the practical experiences of wife and mother. 

At this time, the work on Domestio Economy^ of which 
this volume may be called an enlarged edition, although 
a great portion of it is entirely new, embodying the latest 
results of science, was prepared by the writer as a part of 
the Massachusetts School Library^ and has since been ex- 
tensively introduced as a text-book into public schools and 
higher female seminaries. It was followed by its sequel. 
The Domestic Hecei^t-Booh^ widely circulated by the 
Harpers in every State of the Union. 

These two works have been entirely remodeled, former 
topics rewritten, and many new ones introduced, so as 
to include all that is properly embraced in a complete 
Encyclopedia of Domestic Economy. 

In addition to the opportunities mentioned, the elder 
sister, for many years, has been studying the causes and 
the remedies for the decay of constitution and loss of 
health so increasingly prevalent among American women, 
aiming to promote the establishment of endowed institu- 
tions, in which women shall be properly trained for their 
profession, as both housekeepers and health-keepers. What 
advantages have thus been received and the results thus 
obtained will appear in succeeding pages. 

During the upward progress of the age, and the advance 



16 NECESSITY FOR THIS BOOK. 



of a more enlightened .Cliristianitj, the writers of this 
volume have gained inore. elevated views of the true mis- 
sion of woman — of the dignity and importance of her dis- 
tinctive dutius, and of the true happiness which will be 
the reward of a right appreciation of this mission, and a 
proper performance of these duties. • 

There is at the present time an increasing agitation of the 
pnblic mind, evolving many theories and some crude specu- 
lations as to woman's rights and duties. That there is a 
great social and moral power in her keeping, which is now 
seeking expression by organization, is manifest, and that 
resulting plans and efforts will involve some mistakes, 
some collisions, and some failures, all must expect. 

But to intelligent, reflecting, and benevolent women — 
whose faith rests on the character and teachings of Jesus 
Christ — there are great principles revealed by him, which 
in the end will secure the grand result which he tanght 
and sufiered to achieve. It is hoped that in the following 
pages these principles will be so exhibited and illustrated 
as to aid in securing those rights and advantages which 
Christ's religion aims to provide for all, and especially for 
the most weak and defenseless of his childi'en. 

Catherine E. Beecheb. 




THE CHRISTIAN FAMILY. 



It is the aim of this volume to elevate both the honor 
and the remuneration of all employments that sustain 
the many difficult and varied duties of the family state, 
and thus to render each department of woman's profession 
as much desired and respected as are the most honored 
professions of men. 

This can be secured only by a true view of the grea 
end designed by the family state which Jesus Christ came 
into this world to secure. What, then, is that end'^ 



18 DISCIPLINE OF THE FAMILY STATE. 



It is to provide for the training of our race to tlie highest 
possible intelligence, virtue, and happiness, by means of 
the self-sacrificing labors of the wise and good, and this 
with chief reference to a future immortal existence. 

The distinctive feature of the family is self-sacrificing 
labor of the stronger ar^d wiser members to raise the 
weaker and more ignorant to equal advantages. The 
father undergoes toil and self-denial to provide a home, 
and then the mother becomes a self-sacrificing laborer to 
train its inmates. The ■ useless, troublesome infant is 
served in the humblest ofiices ; while both parents unite in 
training it to an equality with themselves in every advan- 
tage. Soon the older children become helpers to raise the 
younger to a level with their own. When any are sick, 
those who are well become self-sacrificing ministers. 
When the parents are old and useless, the children be- 
come their self-sacrificing servants. 

Thus the discipline of the family state is one of daily 
self-devotion of the stronger and wiser to elevate and sup- 
port the weaker members. ISTothing could be more con- 
trary to its first principles than for the older and more 
capable children to combine to secure to themselves the 
highest advantages, enforcing the drudgeries on the young- 
er, at the sacrifice of their equal culture. 

Jesus Christ came to teach the fatherhood of God and 
consequent brotherhood of man. He came as the " first- 
born Son " of God and the Elder Brother of man, to teach 
by example the self-sacrifice by which the great family' of 
man is to be raised to equality of advantages as children 
of God. For this end, he " humbled himself " from the 
highest to the lowest place. He chose for his birthplace the 
most despised village ; for his'parents the lowest in rank; 
for his trade, to labor with his hands as a carpenter, being 
'' subject to his parents " thirty years. And, what is very 
significant, his trade was that which prepares the family 
home, as if he would teach that the great duty of man is 
labor — to provide for and train weak and ignorant crea- 
tures. Jesus Christ worked with his hands nearly thirty 
years, and preached less than three. And he taught that 
his kingdom is exactly opposite to that of the world, 
where all are striving for the highest positions. " Wlioso 
will be great shall be your minister, and w^hoso will be 
chiefest shall be servant of all." 



ITS PRIVILEGES. ■ • 19 



The family state then, is the aptest earthly illustration 
of the heavenly kingdom, and in it woman is its chief 
minister. Her great mission is self-denial, in training its 
members to self-sacrificing labors for the ignorant and 
weak : if not her own children, then the neglected chil- 
dren of her Father in heaven. She is to rear all nnder her 
care to lay np treasures, not on earth, but in heaven. All 
the pleasures of this life end here ; but those who train 
immortal minds are to reap the fruit of their labor through 
eternal ages. 

To man is appointed the out-door labor — to till the earth, 
dig the mines, toil in the foundries, traverse the ocean, 
transport merchandise, labor in manufactories, construct 
houses, conduct civil, municipal, and state affairs, and all 
the heavy work, which, most of the day, excludes him from 
the comforts of a home. But the great stimulus to all 
these toils, implanted in the heart of every true man, is 
the desire for a home of his own, and the hopes of pater- 
nity. Every man who truly lives for immortality responds 
to the beatitude, " Children are a heritage from the Lord : 
blesse*d is the man that hath his quiver full of them!" 
Tlie more a father and mother live under the influence of 
that " immortality which Christ hath brought to light," 
the more is the blessedness of rearing a family understood 
and appreciated. Every child trained aright is to dwell 
forever in exalted bliss with those that gave it life and 
trained it for heaven. 

The blessed privileges of the family state are not con- 
fined to those who rear children of their own. Any wo- 
man who can earn a livelihood, as every woman should be 
trained to do, can take a properly qualified female asso- 
ciate, and institute a family of her own, receiving to its 
heavenly influences the orphan, the sick, the homeless, 
and the sinful, and by motherly devotion train them to 
follow the self-denying example of Christ, in educating 
his earthly children for true happiness in this life and for 
his eternal home. 

And such is the blessedness of aiding to sustain a truly 
Christian home, that no one comes so near the pattern of 
" the All-perfect One as those who might hold what men cal] 
a higher place, and yet humble themselves to the lowest in 
order to aid in training the young, " not as men-pleasers, 
but as servants to Christ, with good- will doing service as 



20 FALSE POPULAR IDEAS OF THE FAMILY. 



to tlie Lord, and not to men." Such are preparing for 
high places in the kingdom of heaven. " Whosoever will 
be chiefest among you, let him be your servant." 

It is often the case that the true humility of Christ is 
not understood. It was not in having a low opinion of his 
own character and claims, but it was in taking a low place 
in order to raise others to a higher. The worldling seeks 
to raise himself and family to an equality with others, or, 
if possible, a superiority to them. The true follower of 
Christ comes down in order to elevate others. 

The maxims and institutions of this world have ever 
been antagonistic to the teachings and example of Jesus 
'Christ. Men toil for wealth, honor, and power, not as 
means for raising others to an equality with themselves, 
but mainly for earthly, selfish advantages. Although the 
experience of this life shows that children brought up to 
labor have the fairest chance for a virtuous and prosperous 
life, and for hope of future eternal blessedness, yet it is the 
aim of most parents who can do so, to lay up wealth that 
their childi'en need not labor with the hands as Christ did. 
And although exhorted by our Lord not to lay up treasure 
on earth, but rather the imperishable, riches which are 
gained in toiling to train the ignorant and reform the sin- 
ful, as yet a large portion of the professed followers of 
Christ, like his nrst disciples, are "slow of heart to be- 
lieve." . 

]^ot less have the sacred ministries of the family state 
been undervalued and warred upon in other directions; 
for example, the Romish Church has made celibacy a 
prime virtue, and given its highest honors to those who 
forsake the family state as ordained by God. Thus came 
great communities of monks and nuns, shut out from the 
love and labors of a Christian home ; thus, also, came the 
monkish systems of education, collecting the young in 
great establishments away from the watch and care of 
parents, and the healthful and self-sacrificing labors of a 
home. Thus both religion and education have conspired 
to degrade the family state. 

Still more have civil laws and social customs been op- 
posed to the principles of Jesus Christ. It has ever been 
assumed that the learned, the rich, and the powerful are 
not to labor with the hands, as Christ did, and as Paul 
did when he would " not eat any man's bread for naught, 



FALSE POPULAR IDEAS OF LABOR. £1 



but wronglit witli labor, not because we have not power " 
[to live without hand-work,] " but to make ourselves an 
example." (2 Thess. 3.) 

Instead of this, manual labor has been made dishonora- 
ble and unrefined by being forced on the ignorant and 
poor. Especially has the most important of all hand-la- 
bor, that which sustains the family, been thus disgraced ; 
60 that to nurse young children, and provide the food of a 
family by labor, is deemed the lowest of all positions in 
honor and profit, and the last resort of poverty. And so 
our Lord, who himself took the form of a servant, teaches, 
" How hardly shall they that have riches enter the king- 
dom of heaven !" — that kingdom in which all are toiling 
to raise the weak, ignorant, and sinful to such equality 
with themselves as the children of a loving family enjoy. 
One mode in which riches have led to antagonism with 
the true end of the family state is in the style of living, 
by which the hand-labor, most important to health, com- 
fort, and beauty, is confined to the most ignorant and neg- 
lected members of society, without any effort being made 
to raise them to equal advantages with the wise and cul- 
tivated. 

And, the higher civilization has advanced, the more 
have children been trained to feel that to labor, as did 
Christ and Paul, is disgraceful, and to be made the por- 
tion of a degraded class. Children of the rich grow up 
with the feeling that servants are to work for them, and 
they themselves are not to work. To the minds of most 
childi'en and servants, "to be a lady," is almost synony- 
mous with "to be waited on, and do no work." It is the. 
earnest desire of the authors of this volume to make plain 
the falsity of this growing popular feeling, and to show 
how much happier and more efficient family life will 
become when it is strengthened, sustained, and adorned 
by family work. 




n. 



A CHEISTIAN HOUSE. 



In the Divine Word it is written, " The wise w^oman 
buildeth her house." To be " wise," is "to choose the best 
means for accomplishing the best end." It has been shown 
that the best end for a woman to seek is the training of 
God's children for their eternal home, by gniding them to 
intelligence, virtue, and true happiness. When, therefore, 
the wise woman seeks a home in which to exercise this 
ministry, she will aim to secure a house so planned that it 
will provide in the best manner for health, industry, and 
economy, those cardinal requisites of domestic enjoyment 



UNION IN FAMILY DUTIES, THE CHRISTIAN ELEMENT. 23 



and success. To aid in this, is the object of the following 
drawings and descriptions, which will illnstrate a style of 
living more conformed to the great design for which the 
family is instituted than that which ordinarily prevails 
among those classes which take the lead in forming the 
customs of society. The aim will be to exhibit moaes ot 
economizing labor, time, and expenses, so as to secure 
health, thrift, and domestic happiness to persons of limited 
means, in a measure rarely attained even by those who 
possess wealth. 

At the head of this chapter is a sketch of what may be 
properly called a Christian house ; that is, a house con- 
trived for the express purpose of enabling every member 
of a family to labor with the hands for the common good, 
and by modes at once healthful, economical, and tasteful. 

Of course, much of the instruction conveyed in the fol- 
lowing pages is chiefly applicable to the wants and habits 
of those living either in the country or in such suburban 
vicinities as give space of ground for healthful outdoor 
occupation iii the family service, although the general 
principles of house-building and house-keeping are of ne- 
cessity universal in their application — as true in the busy 
confines of the city as in the freer and purer quietude of 
the country. So far as circumstances can be made to 
yield the opportunity, it will be assumed that the family 
state demands some outdoor labor for all. The cultiva- 
tion of flowers to ornament the table and house, of fruits 
and vegetables for food, of silk and cotton for clothing, 
and the care of horse, cow, and dairy, can be so divided 
that each and all of the family, some part of the day, 
can take exercise in the pure air, under the magnetic and 
healthful rays of the sun. Every head of a family should 
seek a soil and climate which will afford such opportuni- 
ties. Railroads, enabling men toiling in cities to rear 
families in the country, are on this account a special bless- 
ing. So, also, is the opening of the South to free labor, 
where, in the pure' and mild climate of the uplands, open- 
air labor can proceed most of the year, and women and 
children labor out of doors as well as within. 

In the following drawings are presented modes of econ- 
omizing time, labor, and expense by the close packing of 
conveniences. By such methods, small and economical 
houses can be made to secure most of the comforts and 



Fig. 1. 



43 X 25 

mSfDE 



10 FEET 

FROM FLOOR TO CEIL IMS 




MODEL COTTAGE-GBOUND PLAN AND ROOMS. 



25 



many of the refinements of large and expensive ones. 
The cottage at the head of this chapter is projected on a 
plan which can be adapted to a warm or cold climate with 
little change. By adding another story, it would serve a 
large family. 

Fig. 1 shows the ground-plan of the first fioor. On the 
inside it is forty-three feet long and twenty-five wide, ex- 
cluding conservatories and front and back projections. Its 
inside height from floor to ceiling is ten feet. The piazzas 
each side of the front projection have sliding-windows to 
the floor, and can, by glazed sashes, be made green-houses 
in winter. In a warm climate," piazzas can be made at the 
back side also. 

In the description and arrangement, the leading aim is 
to show how time, labor, and expense are saved, not only 
in the building but in furniture and its arrangement. 
With this aim, the ground-floor and its furniture will first 
be shown, then the second story and its furniture, and 
then the basement and its conveniences. The conservatories 
are appendages not necessary to housekeeping, but useful 
in many ways pointed out more at large in other chapters. 
The entry has arched recesses behind the front doors, 
(Fig. 2,) furnished with hooks for over- 
clothes in both — a box for over-shoes 
in one, and a stand for umbrellas in 
the other. The roof of the recess is 
for statuettes, busts, or flowers. The 
stairs turn twice with broad steps, 
making a recess at the lower landing, 
where a table is set with a vase of 
flowers, (Fig. 3.) On one side of the 
recess is a closet, arched to correspond 
wjth the arch over the stairs. A 
bracket over the first broad stair, with 
flowers or statuettes, is visible from the 
entrance, and pictures can be hung as 
in the illustration. 

The large room on the left can be 
made to serve the purpose of several 
rooms. by means of a movable screen. 
By shifting this rolling screen from one 
part of the room to another, two apartments are always 
available, of any desired size within the limits of the large 



Fig. 3. 




26 



MOVABLE 8CBEEN— FRONT SIDE. 



Fig. 4. 




ROLLERS ROLLERS 

room. One side of the screen fronts what may be nsed as 
the parlor or sitting-room ; the other side is arranged for 
bedroom conveni- ^. ^ 

ences. Of this, Fig. is- • 

4 shows the front 
side ; covered first 
with strong canvas, 
stretched and nailed 
on. Over this is 
pasted panel-paper, 
and the upper part 
is made to resemble 
an ornamental cor- 
nice by fresco-paper. 
Pictures can be 
hung in the panels, 
or be pasted on and 
varnished with 
white varnish. To 
prevent the absorp- 
tion of the varnish, 
a wash of gum-isin- 
glass(fi3h-glue) must 
be applied twice. 




CLOSET RECESS 



STAIR 
LAMDIIMG 



MOVABLE SCBEEN— INTERIOR ARRANGEMENT. 



27 



Fig. 5 shows ' the back or inside of the movable screen, 
toward the part of the room used as the bedi^oom. On 
one side, and at the top and bottom, it has shelves with 
shelf-boxes, which are cheaper and better than drawers, 
and much prefeiTcd by those using them. Handles are 
cut in the front and back side, as seen in Fig. 6. Half an 
inch space must be between the box and the shelf over it, 
and as much each side, so that it can be taken out and 
put in easily. The central part of the screen's interior is 
a wardrobe. 

This screen must be so high as nearly to reach the 
ceiling, in order to prevent it from overturning. It is to 
fill the width of the room, except two feet on each side. 
A projecting cleat or strip, reaching nearly to the top of 
the screen, three inches wide, is to be screwed to the front 
sides, on which light frame doors are to be hung, covered 



RQLLEES 




ROLLERS^ 



with canvas and panel-paper like the front of the screen. 
The inside of these doors is furnished with hooks for cloth- 



28 



BED AND MOVABLE SCBEEN. 



Fig. 6. 




ing, fof which the projection makes room. The whole 
screen is to be eighteen inches deep at the top and two 

feet deep at the base, giving a 
solid foundation. It is moved 
on four wooden rollers, one 
foot long and four inches in 
diameter. The pivots of the 
rollers and the parts where" 
there is friction must be rubbed with hard soap, and then 
a child can move the whole easily. 

A curtain is to be hung across the whole interior of the 

screen by rings, on a strong wire. The curtain should be 

/ in three parts, with lead or large nails in the hems to 

^ keep it in place. The wood-work must be put together 

with screws, as the screen is too large to pass through a door. 

At the end of the room, behind the screen, are two 

couches, to be run one under the other, as in Fig. 7. The 



rig. 7. 




Fi?. 8. 



upper one is made with four posts, each three feet high 

and three inches square, set on casters two inches high. 

The frame is to be fourteen inches from the. floor, seven 

feet long, two feet four inches wide, 

and three inches in thickness. At the 

head, and at the foot, is to be screwed 

a notched two-inch board, three inches 

wide, as in Fig. 8. The mortises are 

to be one inch wide and deep, and one inch apart, to receive 

slats made of ash, oak, or spruce, one inch square, placed 

lengthwise of the couch. The slats being small, and so 



n-r-Lj~i_n 



MATEESSES— COVERLETS— THE BOX-OTTOMAN. 



29 



near together, and running lengthwise, make a iDetter 
spring frame than wire coils. If they warp, they can be 
turned. They must not be fastened at the ends, except 
by insertion in the notches. Across the posts, and of equal 
height with them, are to be screwed head and foot-boards. 
The under couch is like the upper, except these dimen- 
sions : posts, nine inches high, including castors ; frame, 
six feet two inches long, two feet four inches wide. The 
frame should be as near the floor as possible, resting on 
the casters. 

The most healthful and comfortable mattress is made 

by a case, open in 
the centre and 
fastened together 



Fig. 9. 





with buttons, as 
in Fig. 9 ; to be 
filled with' oat 

straw, which is softer than wheat or rye. This can be 

adjusted to the figure, and often renewed. 

Fig. 10 represents the upper couch when covered, with 

the under couch put beneath it. The coverlet should 

match the curtain of the screen ; and the pillows, by day, 

should have a case of the same. 



Fig. 10. 




Fig. 11. 



u/ 



Fig. 11 is an ottoman, made as a box, with a lid on 
hinges. A cushion is fastened to this lid by strings at 
each corner, passing through holes in the box lid and tied 
inside. The cushion to be cut square, with side pieces ; 
stuffed with hair, and stitched through like a mattress. 
Side handles are made by cords fastened inside with knots. 
The box must be two inches larger at the bottom than 
at the top, and the lid and cushion the same size as the 
bottom, to give it a tasteful shape. This ottoman is set 
on casters, and is a great convenience for holding articles, 
while serving also as a seat. 

The expense of the screen, where lumber averages $4 a 



30 KITCHEN AND STOVE-BOOM. 



hundred, and carpenter labor $3 a day, would be abont 
$30, and the two conches abont $6. The material for 
covering might be cheap and yet pretty. A woman with 
these directions, and a son or hnsband who wonld nse plane 
and saw, conld thns secure much additional room, and 
also what amounts to two bureaus, two large trunks, one 
large wardrobe, and a wash-stand, for less than $20 — the 
mere cost of materials. The screen and couches can be 
so arranged as to have one room serve first as a large and 
airy sleeping-room ; then, in the morning,, it may be used 
as sitting-room one side of the screen, and breakfast-room 
the other ; and lastly, through the day it can be made a 
large parlor on the front side, and a sewing or retiring- 
room the other side. The needless spaces usually devoted 
to kitchen, entries, halls, back-stairs, pantries, store-rooms, 
and closets, by this method would be used in adding to 
the size of the large room, so variously used by day and 
by night. 

Fig. 12 is an enlarged plan of the kitchen and stove- 
room. The chimney and stove-room are contrived to 
ventilate the whole house, by a mode exhibited in another 
chapter. 

Between the two rooms glazed sliding-doors, passing 
each other, serve to shut out heat and smells from the 
kitchen. The sides of the stove-room must be lined with 
shelves ; those on the side by the cellar stairs, to be one 
foot wide, and eighteen inches apart ; on the other side, 
shelves may be narrower, eight inches wide and nine 
inches apart. Boxes with lids, to receive stove utensils, 
must be placed near the stove. 

On these shelves, and in the closet and boxes, can be 
placed every material used for cooking, all the table and 
cooking utensils, and all the articles used in house work, 
and yet much spare room will be left. The cook's galley 
in a steamship has every article and utensil used in cook- 
ing for two hundred persons, in a space not larger than 
this stove-room, and so arranged that with one or two 
steps the cook can reach all he uses. 

In contrast to this, in most large houses, the table 
furniture, the cooking materials and utensils, the sink, and 
the eating-room, are at such distances apart, that half the 
time and strength is employed in walking back and forth 
to collect and return the articles used. 







D. 

W. 



KITCHEN 

9X9 



SLIDING DOORS 



STOVE ROOM 



o 

r 
o 

CD 

m 

H 



X 

n 




MD/NG 



32 



KITCEEN ABEANGEMENTS. 



Fig. 13 is an enlarged plan of the sink and cooking- 
form. Two windows make a better circulation of air in 
warm weather, bj having one open at top and the other 



Fig. 13. 




at the bottom, while the light is better adjusted for work- 
ing, in case of weak eyes. 

The flour-barrel just fills the closet, which has a door 
for admission, and a lid to raise when used. Beside it, is 
the form for cooking, with a moulding-board laid on it ; 
one side used for preparing vegetables and meat, and the 
other for moulding bread. The sink has two pumps, for 
well and for rain-water — one having a forcing power to 
throw waiter into the reservoir in the garret, which sup- 
plies the water-closet and bath-room. On the other side 
of the sink is the dish-drainer, with a ledge on the edge 



SINK AND COOKING-FORM. 



S3 



next the sink, to hold the dishes, and grooves cut to let 
the water drain into the sink. It has hinges, so that it 
can either rest on the cook-form or be turned over and 
cover the sink. Under the sink are shelf-boxes placed on 
two shelves run into grooves, with other grooves above 
and below, so that one may move the shelves and increase 
or diminish the spaces between. The shelf-boxes can be 
used for scouring-materials, dish-towels, and dish-cloths; 
also to hold bowls for bits of butter, fats, etc. Under 
these two shelves is room for two pails, and a jar for 
soap-grease. 

Under the cook-form are shelves and shelf-boxes for un- 
bolted wheat, corn-meal, rje, etc. Beneath these, for 
white and brown sugar, are wooden can-pails, which are 
the best articles in which to keep these constant neces- 
sities. Beside them is the tin molasses-can with a tight, 
Fig. 14. . movable cover, and a cork in the 

spout. This is much better than 
a jug for molasses, and also for 
vinegar and oil, being easier to 
clean and to handle. Other ar- 
ticles and implements for cooking can be arranged on or 
under the shelves at the side and front. A small cooking- 
tray, holding pepper, salt, dredging-box, knife and spoon, 
should stand close at hand by the stove, (Fig. 14.) 

The articles used for setting 
tables are to be placed on the 
shelves at the front and side of 
the sink. Two tumbler-trays, 
made of pasteboard, covered 
with varnished fancy papers and 
divided by wires, (as shown in 
Fig. 15,) save many steps in setting and clearing table. 
Similar trays, (Fig. 16,) for knives and forks and spoons, 




Fig. 15. 




serve the same purpose. 

Fig. 16. 



The sink should be three feet 
long and three inches deep, its 
width matching the cook-form. 

Fig. 17 is the second or attic 
story. The main objection to attic 
rooms is their warmth in summer, 
owing to the heated roof. This is prevented by so en- 
larging the closets each side that their walls meet the ceiling 




Fig. 17. 




SECOND, OB ATTIC STORY. 



35 



Fig. 18. 



o 







Tinder the garret floor, thus excluding all the roof. In the 

bed-chambers, corner dressing-tables, as Fig. 18, instead 

of projecting bureaus, save 

much S23ace for use, and give a 

handsome form -and finish to 

the room. In the bath-room 

must be the opening to the 

garret, and a step-ladder to 

reach it. A reservoir in the 

garret, supplied by a forcing- 
pump in the cellar or at the 

sink, must be well supported 

by timbers, and the plumbing 

must be well done, or much 

annoyance will ensue. 

The large chambers are to 

be lighted by large windows 

or glazed sliding-doors, open- 
ing upon the balcony. A roof 

can be put over the balcony 

and its sides inclosed by windows, and the chamber extend 

into it, and be thus much enlarged. 

The water-closets must have the latest improvements 

for safe discharge, and there will be no trouble. They 

cost no more than an out-door 
building, and save from the most 
disagreeable house-labor. 

A great improvement, called 
^ earth-closets^ will probably take the 
place of water-closets to some ex- 
tent ; though at present the water 
is the more convenient. A descrip- 
tion of the earth-closet will be 
hardly necessary in this work, as 
its construction and management, 
though simple, involve long ex- 
planation. 

The method of ventilating all the 
chambers, and also the cellar, will 
be described in another chapter. 
Fig. 19 represents a shoe-bag, 

that can be fastened to the side of a closet or closet- 
door. 



Fig. 19. 




36 



THE PIECE-BAG. 



Fig. 20 represents a piece-bag, and is a very great labor 
and space-saving invention. It is made of calico, and 
fastened to the side of a closet or a door, to hold all the 
bundles that are usually stowed in trunks and drawers. 



Fig. 20. 




India-rubber or elastic tape drawn into hems to hold the 
contents of the bag is better than tape-strings. Each bag 
should be labeled with the name of its contents, written 
with indelible ink on white tape sewed on to the bag. 
Such systematic arrangement saves much time and annoy- 
ance. Drawers or trunks to hold these articles can not be 
kept so easily in good order, and moreover, occupy spaces 
saved by this contrivance. 



THE BASEMENT AND ITS ARRANGEMENTS. 



37 



Fig. 21 is the basement. It has the floor and sides plas- 
tered, and is lighted with glazed doors. A form is raised 
close by the cellar stairs, for baskets, pails, and tubs. 



Fig. 21. 




Here, also, the refrigerator can be placed, or, what is 

, as designated in the 
the basement must be an in- 



better, an ice-closet can be made 



illustration. The floor of 
clined plane toward a drain, and be. plastered with water- 
lime. The wash-tubs have plugs in the bottom to let ofl* 
water, and cocks and pipes over them bringing cold water 
from the reservoir in the garret and hot water from the 



38 MISCELLANEOUS SUGGESTIONS. 



laundry stove. This saves much, heavy labor of emptying 
tubs and carrying water. 

The laundry closet has a stove for heating irons, and 
also a kettle on top for heating water. Slides or clothes- 
frames are made to di^aw out to receive wet clothes, and 
then run into the closet to dry. This saves health as well 
as time and money, and the clothes are as w^hite as when 
dried outdoors. 

The wood- work of the house, for doors, windows, etc., 
should be oiled chestnut, butternut, whitewood, and pine. 
This is cheaper, handsomer, and more easy to keep clean 
than painted wood. 

In Fig. 1 are planned two conservatories, and few under- 
stand their value in the training of the young. They pro- 
vide soil, in which children, through the winter months, 
can be starting seeds and plants for their gardens and rais- 
ing valuable, tender plants. Every child should cultivate 
flowers and fruits to sell and to give away, and thus be 
taught to learn the value of money and to practice both 
economy and benevolence. 

According to the calculation of a house-carpenter, in a 
place where the average price of lumber is $4 a hundred, 
and carpenter "work $3 a day, such a house can be built 
for $1600. For those practicing the closest economy, two 
small families could occupy it, by dividing the kitchen, 
and yet have room enough. Or one large room and the 
chamber over it can be left till increase of family and 
means require enlargement. 

A strong horse and carryall, with a cow, garden, vine- 
yard, and orchard, on a few acres, would secure all the 
substantial comforts found in great establishments, with- 
out the trouble of ill-qualified servants. 

And if the parents and children were united in the 
daily labors of the house, garden, and fruit culture, such 
thrift, health, and happiness would be secured as is but 
rarely found among the rich. 

Let us suppose a colony of cultivated and Christian peo- 
ple, having abundant wealth, who now are living as the 
wealthy usually do, emigrating to some of the beauti- 
ful Southern uplands, where are rocks, hills, valleys, and 
mountains as picturesque as those of JSTew-Englandj where 
the thermometer but rarely reaches 90" in summer, and 
in winter as rarely sinks below freezing-point, so that out- 



COMMON ENJOYMENT OF HOME DUTIES. 39 



door labor goes on all tlie year, where the fertile soil is 
easily worked, where rich tropical fruits and flowers 
abound, where cotton and silk can be raised by children 
around their home, where- the produce of vineyards and 
orchards finds steady markets by railroads ready made ; 
suppose such a colony, with a central church and school- 
room, library, hall for sports, and a common laundry, (tak- 
ing the most trying part of domestic labor from each 
house,) — suppose each family to train the children to 
labor with the hands as a healthful and honorable duty ; 
suppose all this, which is perfectly practicable, would not 
the enjoyment of this life be increased, and also abundant 
treasures be laid up in heaven, by using the wealth thus 
economized in diffusing similar enjoyments and culture 
among the poor, ignorant, and neglected ones in desolated 
sections where many now are perishing for want of such 
Christian example and influences ? 



in. 



A HEALTHFUL HOME. 



"When " tlie wise woman buildetli lier house," tlie first 
consideration will be the health of the inmates. The 
J first and most indispensable requisite for health is pure 
y air, both by day and night. 

If the parents of a family shonld daily witlihold from 
their children a large portion of food needful to growth 
and health, and every night shonld administer to each a 
small dose of poison, it would be called murder of the 
most hideous character. But it is probable that more 
than one half of this nation are doing that very thing. 
The murderous operation is perpetrated daily and nightly, 
.in our parlors, our bed-rooms, our kitchens, our school-, 
rooms; and even our churches are no asylum from the 
barbarity. Nor can we escape by our railroads, for even 
there the same dreadful work is going on. 

The only palliating circumstance is the ignorance of 
• those who commit these wholesale murders. As saith the 
Scripture, " The people do perish for lack of knowledge." 
And it is this lack of knowledge which it is woman's 
special business to supply, in first training her household 
to intelligence as the indispensable road to virtue and 
happiness. ^ 

The above statements will be illustrated by some ac- 
count of the manner in which the body is supplied with 
healthful nutriment. There are two modes of nourishing 
the body, one is by food and thfe other' by air. In the 
stomach the food is dissolved, and tlie nutritious portion 
is absorbed by the blood, and then is carried by blood- 
vessels to the lungs, where it receives oxygen from the 
air we breathe. This oxygen is as necessary to the nourish- 



OXYGEN A NECESSITY— STBUCTUEE OF TEE LUNGS. 



41 



Fig. 22. 



ment of the body as tlie food for the stomach. In a full- 
grown man weighing one hundred and fifty-four pounds, 
one hundi-ed and eleven pounds consists of oxygen, ob- 
tained chiefly from the air we breathe. Thus the lungs 
feed the body with oxygen, as really as the stomach sup- 
plies the other food required. 

The lungs occupy the upper 
portion of the body from the 
collar-bone to the lower ribs, 
and between their two lobes is 
placed the heart. 

Tig. 22 shows the position of 
the lungs, though not the exact 
shape. On the right hand is 
the exterior of one of the lobes, 
and on the left hand are seen 
the branching tubes of the in- 
terior, through which the air 
we breathe passes to the ex- 
ceedingly minute air-cells of 
which the lungs chiefly consist. 
Fig. 23 shows the outside of a 
cluster of these air-cells, and 
Fig, 24: is the inside view. The 
lining membrane of each air-cell 
is covered by a network of mi- 
nute blood-vessels called cajpillaries^ which, magnified seve- 
ral hundred times, appear in the microscope as at Fig. 
25. Every air-cell has a blood-vessel that brings blood 

from the heart, Fig. ai. 

which meanders 
through its capil- 
laries till it reach- 
es another blood- 
vessel* that carries 
it back to the 
heart, as seen in 
Fig. 26. In this 
passage of the ^ 
blood through these capillaries, the air in the air-cell im- 
parts its oxygen to the blood, and receives in exchange 
carbonic acid' and watery vapor. These latter are expired 
at every breath into the atmosphere. 




Bj'^'iA'k^^ 



Fig. 23. 





42 



8TBUCTUBE AND ACTION OF TEE HEABT 





By calculating the number of air-cells in a small portion 
of the lungs, under a miscroscope, it is ascertained that 
Fig. 25. there are no less Fig. 26. 

than eighteen mil- 
lion of these won- 
derful little puri- 
fiers and feeders 
of the body. By 
their ceaseless 
ministries, every 
grown person re- 
ceives, each day, thirty-three hogs- 
heads of air into the lungs to nourish 
and vitalize every part of the body, 
and also to carry off its impurities. 

But the heart has a most important 
agency in this operation. Fig. 27 is a 
diagram of the heart, which is placed 
between the two lobes of the lungs. 
The right side of the heart receives 
the dark and impure blood, which is 
loaded with carbonic acid. It is brought from every 
point of the body by branching veins that unite, in the 

upper and the low- 
er vena cai^a, which 
discharge into 
the right side of 
the heart. This 
impure blood pass- 
es to the capillaries 
of the air-cells in 
the lungs,, where it 
gives off carbonic 
acid, and, taking . 
oxygen from the 
air, then returns 
to the left side of 
the heart, . from 
whence it is sent 
out through the 
aorta and its my- 
riad branching ar- 
teries to every part 
of the body. 



AORTA. 




Fis. 27. 



circxjlation of the blood. 43 



Wlien the upper portion of the heart contracts, it forces 
both the pm-e blood from the hijigs, and the impure blood 
from the body, through the valves marked Y, Y, into the 
lower part. When the lower portion contracts, it closes 
the valves and forces the impm'e blood into the lungs on 
one side, and also on the other side forces the purified 
blood through the aorta and arteries to all parts of the 
body. 

As before stated, the lungs consist chiefly of air-cells; 
the walls of which are lined with minute blood-vessels, 
and we know that in every man these air-cells number 
eighteen millions, 

ISTow every beat of the heart sends two ounces of blood 
into the minute, hair-like blood-vessels, called capillaries, 
that line these air-cells, where the air in the air-cells gives 
its oxygen to the blood, and in its place receives carbonic 
acid. This gas is then expired by the lungs into the sur- 
rounding atmosphere. 

Thus, by this powerful little organ, the heart, no less 
than twenty-eight pounds of blood, in a common-sized 
man, is sent three times every hour through the lungs, 
giving out carbonic acid and watery vapor, and receiving 
the life-inspiring oxygen. 

"Whether all this blood shall convey the nourishing and 
invigorating oxygen to every part of the body, or return 
unrelieved of carbonic acid, depends entirely on the pure- 
ness of the atmosphere that is breathed. 

Every time we think or feel, this mental action dissolves 
some particles of the brain and nerves, which pass into 
the blood to be thrown out of the body through the lungs 
and skin. In like manner, whenever we move any muscle, 
some of its particles decay and pass away. It is in the 
capillaries, which are all over the body, that this change 
takes place. The blood-vessels that convey the pure blood 
from the heart, divide into myriads of little branches that 
terminate in capillary vessels like those lining the air-cells 
of the luno-s. The blood meanders throu2:h these minute 
capillaries, depositing the oxygen taken from the lungs 
and the food of the stomach, and receiving in return the 
decayed matter, which is chiefly carbonic acid. 

This carbonic acid is formed by the union of oxygen 
with carbon or charcoal,, which forms a large portion of 
the body. Watery vapor is also formed in the capillaries 



44 CAPILLABY ACTION OF LUNGS AND SKIN. 



bj the union of oxygen with the hydrogen contained in 
the food and drink that nourish the body. 

During this process in the capillaries, the bright red 
blood of the arteries changes to the purple blood of the 
veins, which is carried back to the heart, to be sent to the 
lungs as before described. A portion of the oxygen re- 
ceived in the lungs unites with the dissolved food sent 
from the stomach into the blood, and no food can nourish 
the body till it has received a proper supply of oxygen in 
the lungs. At every breath a half-pint of blood receives 
its needed oxygen in the lungs, and at the same time gives 
out an equal amount of carbonic acid and water. 

Now, this carbonic acid, if received into the lungs, 
undiluted by sufficient air, is a fatal poison, causing 
certain death. When it is mixed with only a small por- 
tion of air, it is a slow poison, which imperceptibly under- 
mines the constitution. 

We now can understand how it is that all who live in 
houses where the breathing of inmates has deprived the 
air of oxygen, and loaded it with carbonic acid, may truly 
be said to be poisoned and starved ; poisoned with carbonic 
acid, and starved for want of oxygen. 

Whenever oxygen unites with carbon to form carbonic 
acid, or with hydrogen to form water, heat is generated. 
Thus it is that a kind of combustion is constantly going 
on in the capillaries all over the body. It is this burning 
of the decaying portions of the body that causes animal 
heat. It is a process similar to that which takes place 
when lamps and candles are burning. The oil and tallow, 
which are chiefly carbon and hydrogen, unite with the 
oxygen of the air and form carbonic acid and watery 
vapor, producing heat during the process. So in the ca- 
pillaries all over the body, the carbon and hydrogen sup- 
plied to the blood by the stomach, unite with the oxygen 
gained in the lungs, and cause the heat which is diffused 
all over the body. 

The skin also performs an office, similar to that of the 
lungs. In the skin of every adult there are no less than 
seven million minute perspirating tubes, each one fourth 
of an inch long. If all these were united in one length, 
they would extend twenty-eight miles. These minute 
tubes are lined with capillary blood-vessels, which are 
constantly sending out not only carbonic acid, but other 



OXYGEN AND CARBONIC ACID. ■ 45 



gases and particles of decayed matter. The skin and 
Inngs together, in one day and niglit, throw ont three 
quarters of a pound of charcoal as carbonic -acid, beside 
other gases and water. 

"While the bodies of men and animals are filling the 
au' with the poisonous carbonic acid, and nsing np the 
life-giving oxygen, the trees and plants are performing an 
exactly contrary process ; for they sfi'e absorbing carbonic 
acid and giving ont oxygen. Thns, by a wonderful 
arrangement of the beneficent Creator, a constant eqni- 
librinm is preserved. What animals use is provided by 
vegetables, and what vegetables require is furnished by 
animals ; and all goes on, day and night, without care or 
thought of man. 

The human race in its infancy was placed in a mild' 
and genial clime, where each separate family dwelt in 
tents, and breathed, both day and night, the pure air of 
heaven. And when they became scattered abroad to 
colder climes, the open fire-place secured a full supply of 
pure air. But civilization has increased economies and 
conveniences far ahead of the knowledge needed by the 
common people for their healthful use. Tight sleeping- 
rooms, and close, air-tight stoves, are now starving and poi- 
soning more than one half of this nation. It seems im- 
possible to make people know their danger. And the 
remedy for this is the light of knowledge and intelligence 
which it is woman's special mission to bestow, as she con- 
trols and regulates the ministries of a home. 

The poisoning process is thus exhibited in Mrs. Stowe's 
"House and Home Papers," and can not be recalled too 
•often : 

" No other gift of God, so precious, so inspiring, is treat- 
ed with such utter irreverence and contempt in the calcu- 
lations of us mortals as this same air of heaven. A ser- 
mon on oxygen, if we had a preacher who understood the 
subject, might do more to repress sin than the most ortho- 
dox discourse to show when and how and why sin came. 
A minister gets up in a crowded lecture-room, where the 
mephitic air almost makes the candles burn blue, and be- 
wails the deadness of the church — the church the while, 
drugged by the poisoned air, growing sleepier and sleepier, 
though they feel dreadfully wicked for being so. 

" Little Jim, who, fresh from his afternoon's ramble in 



46 DOMESTIC poisoNma. 



the fields, last evening said his prayers dutifully, and lay 
down to sleep in a most Christian frame, this morning sits 
up in bed with his hair bristling with crossness, strikes at 
his nnrse, and declares he won't say his prayers — that he 
don't want to be good. The simple difference is, that the 
child, having slept in a close box of a room, his brain all 
night fed by poison, is in a mild state of moral insanity. 
Delicate women remark that it takes them till eleven or 
twelve o'clock to get np their strength in the morning. 
Query, Do they sleep with closed windows and doors, and 
with heavy bed-cnrtains ? 

" The houses built by our ancestors were better ventila- 
ted in certain respects than modern ones, with all their 
improvements. The great central chimney, with its open 
fire-places in the difierent rooms, created a constant cur- 
rent which carried off foul and vitiated air. In these 
days, how common is it to provide rooms with only a flue 
for a stove ! This flue is kept shut in summer, and i-n win- 
ter opened only to admit a close stove, which burns away 
the vital portion of the air quite as fast as the occupants 
breathe it away. The sealing up of fire-places and intro- 
duction of air-tight stoves may, doubtless, be a saving of 
fuel ; it saves, too, more than that ; in thousands and thou- 
sands of cases it has saved people from all further human 
wants, and put an end forever to any needs short of the 
six feet of narrow earth which are man's only inalienable 
property. In other words, since the invention of air-tight 
stoves, thousands have died of slow poison. 

" It is a terrible thing to reflect upon, that our northern 
winters last from l^ovember to May, six long months, in 
which many families confine themselves to one room, of 
which every window-crack has been carefully calked to 
make it air-tight, where an air-tight stove keeps the atmo- 
sphere at a temperature between eighty and ninety ; and 
the inmates, sitting there with all their' winter clothes on, 
become enervated both by the heat and by the poisoned 
air, for which there is no escape but the occasional open- 
ing of a door. 

" It is no wonder that the first result of all this is such 
a delicacy of skin and lungs that about half the inmates 
are obliged to give up going into the open air during the 
six cold months, because they invariably catch cold if they 
do so. It is no wonder that the cold caught about the first 



HEALTHFULNESS OF FRESH AIR. 47 



of December has by the first of March become a fixed con- 
sumption, and that the opening of the spring, which ought 
to bring life and health, in so many cases brings death. 

" We hear of the lean condition in which the poor bears 
emerge fi'om their six months' wintering, during which 
they subsist on the fat which they have acquired the pre- 
vious summer. Even so, in our long winters, multitudes 
of delicate people subsist on the daily waning strength 
which they acquired in the season when windows and 
doors were open, and fresh air was a constant luxury. IsTo 
wonder we hear of spring fever and spring biliousness, and 
have thousands of nostrums for clearing the blood in the 
spring. All these things are the pantings and palpita- 
tions of a system run down under slow poison, unable to 
get a step further. 

" Better, far better, the old houses gf the olden time, 
with their great roaring fires, and their bed-rooms where 
the snow came in and the wintry winds whistled. Then, 
to be sure, you froze your back while you burned your 
face, your water froze nightly in your pitcher, your breath 
congealed in ice-wreaths on the blankets, and you could 
write your name on the pretty snow-wreath that had sifted 
in through the window-cracks. But you woke full of life 
and vigor, you looked out into the whirling snow-storms 
without a shiver, and thought nothing of plunging through 
drifts as high as your head on your daily way to school. 
You jingled in sleighs, you snow-balled, you lived in snow 
like a snow-bird, and your blood coursed and tingled, in 
full tide of good, merry, real life, through your veins — 
none of the slow-creeping, black blood which clogs the 
brain and lies like a weight on the vital wheels !" 

To illustrate the effects of this poison, the horrors of 
"the Black Hole of Calcutta" are often referred to, 
where one hundred and forty-six men were crowded into 
a room only eighteen feet square with but two small win- 
dows, and in a hot climate. After a night of such horri- 
ble torments as chill the blood to read, the morning 
showed a pile of one hundred and twenty-three dead men 
and twenty-three half dead that were finally recovered 
only to a life of weakness and suffering. 

In another case, a captain of the steamer Londonderry, 
in 184:8, from sheer ignorance of the consequences, in a 
Storm, shut up his passengers in a tight room without win- 



48 EVILS OF UNYEN'TILATED ROOMS. 



dows. The agonies, groans, curses, and slirieks that fol- 
lowed were horrible. The struggling mass finally burst 
the door, and the captain found seventy-two of the two 
hundred already dead ; while others, with blood starting 
from their eyes and ears, and their bodies in convulsions, 
were restored, niany only to a life of sickness and debility. 

It is ascertained by experiments that breathing bad 
air tends so to reduce all the processes of the body, that 
less oxygen is demanded and less carbonic acid sent out. 
This, of course, lessens the vitality and weakens the con- 
stitution ; and it accounts for the fact that a person of full 
health, accustomed to pure air, suffers from bad air far 
more than those who are accustomed to it. The body of 
strong and healthy persons demands more oxygen, and 
throws off more carbonic acid, and is distressed when the 
supply fails. But the one reduced by bad air feels little 
inconvenience, because all the functions of life are so slow 
that less oxygen is needed, and less carbonic acid thrown 
out. And the sensibilities being deadened, the evil is not 
felt. This provision of nature prolongs many lives, though 
it turns vigorous constitutions into feeble ones. Were it 
not for this change in the constitution, thousands in badly 
ventilated roomg and houses would come to a speedy death. 

One of the results of un ventilated rooms is scrofula. A 
distinguished French physician, M. Baudeloque, states that : 

" The repeated respiration of the same atmosphere is 
the cause of scrofula. If there be entirely pure air, there 
may be bad food, bad clothing, and want of personal clean- 
liness, but scrofulous disease can not exist. This disease 
never attacks persons who pass their lives in the open air, 
2iTidi always manifests itself when they abide in air which 
is unrenewed. Invariably it will be found that a truly 
scrofulous disease is caused by vitiated air ; and it is not 
necessary that there should be a prolonged stay in such 
an atmosphere. Often, several hours each day is suffi- ' 
cient. Thus persons may live in the most healthy coun- 
try, pass most of the day in the open air, and yet become 
scrofulous by sleeping in a close room where the air is not 
renewed. This is the case with many shepherds who pass 
their nights in small huts with no opening but a door 
closed tight at night." 

The same writer illustrates this by the history of a 
French village where the inhabitants all slept in close, un- 



BAD VBWTILATION A PROLIFIC SOURCE OF DISEASE. 49 



ventilated houses. ITearly all were seized with scrofula, 
and many families became wholly extinct, their last mem- 
bers dying ^'rotten with scrofula." A fire destroyed a 
large part of this village. Houses were then built to 
secure pure air, and scrofula disappeared from the part 
thus rebuilt. 

We are informed by medical writers that defective ven- 
tilation is one great cause of diseased joints, as well as of 
diseases of the eyes, ears, and skin. 

Foul air is the leading cause of tubercular and scrofu- 
lous consumption, so very common in our country. Dr. 
Guy, in his examination before public health commission- 
ers in Great Britain, says : " Deficient ventilation I believe 
to be more fatal than all other- causes put together." He 
states that consumption is twice as common among trades- 
men as among the gentry, owing to the bad ventilation of 
their stores and dwellings. 

Dr. Griscom, in his work on Uses and Abuses of Air, 
says : 

" Food carried from the stomach to the blood can not be- 
come nutritive till it is properly oxygenated in the lungs ; 
so that a small quantity of food, even if less wholesome, 
may be made nutritive by pure air as it passes through 
the lungs. But the best of food can not be changed into 
nutritive blood till it is vitalized by pure air in the lungs." 

And again : 

" To those who have the care and instruction of the ris- 
ing generation — the future fathers and mothers of men — 
this subject of ventilation commends itself with an inter- 
est surpassing every other. JSTothing can more convincing- 
ly establish the belief in the existence of something vital- 
ly wrong in the habits and circumstances of civilized life 
than the appalling fact that one fourth of all who are born 
die before reaching the fifth year, and one half the deaths 
of mankind occur under the twentieth year. Let those 
who have these things in charge answer to their own con- 
sciences how they discharge their duty in supplying to the 
young a pure atmosphere^ which is the first requisite for 
healthy hodies and sound mindsP 

On the subject of infant mortality the experience of sav- 
ages should teach the more civilized. Professor Brewer, 
who traveled extensively among the Indians of our western 
territories, states : " I have rarely seen a sick boy among 



50 EXAMPLES OF POOB VENTILATION: 



the Indians." Catlin, the painter, who resided and traveled 
so much among these people, states that infant mortality ia 
very small among them, the reason, of course, being abun- 
dant exercise and pure air. 

Dr. Dio Lewis, whose labors in the cause of health are 
well known, in 'his very useful work, Weak Lungs^ and 
Mow to Make them Strong, says. : 

" As a medical man I have visited thousands of sick- 
rooms, and have not found in one- in a hundred of them 
a pure atmosphere. I have often returned from church 
doubting whether I had not committed a sin in exposing 
myself so long to its poisonous air. There are in our great 
cities churches costing $50,000, in the construction of which 
not fifty cents were expended in providing means for ven- 
tilation. Ten thousand dollars for ornament, but not ten 
cents for pure air I 

" Unventilated parlors, with gas-burners, (each consum- 
ing as much oxygen as several men,) made as tight as pos- 
sible, and a party of ladies and gentlemen spending half 
the night in them ! In 1861, I visited a legislative hall, 
the legislature being in session. I remained half an hour 
in the most impure air I ever breathed. Our school-houses 
are, some of them, so vile in this respect, that I would pre- 
fer to have my son remain in utter ignorance of books 
rather than to breathe, six hours every day, such a poison- 
ous atmosphere. Theatres and concert-rooms are so foul 
that only reckless people continue to visit them. Twelve 
hours in a railway-car exhausts one, not by the journeying, 
but because of the devitalized air. While crossing the 
ocean in a Cunard steamer, I was amazed that men who 
knew enough to construct such ships did not know enough 
to furnish air to the passengers. The distress of sea-sick- 
ness is greatly intensified by the sickening air of the ship. 
Were carbonic acid only Hack, what a contrast there would 
be between our hotels in their elaborate ornament ! 

" Some time since I visited an establishment where one 
hundred and fifty girls, in a single room, were engaged in 
needle-work. Pale-faced, and with low vitality and feeble 
circulation, they were unconscious that they were breath- 
ing air that at once produced in me dizziness and a sense 
of suffocation. If I had remained a week with them, I 
should, by reduced vitality, have become unconscious of 
the vileness of the air !" 



NIGHT AIB— CAJRB ONIG A GW, 5 1 



There is a prevailing prejudice against night air as un- 
healtliful to be admitted into sleeping-rooms, which, is 
owing whoUj to sheer ignorance. In the night every 
body necessarily breathes night air and no other. When 
admitted from without into a sleeping-room it is colder, 
and therefore heavier, than the air within, so it sinks to 
the bottom of the room and forces ont an eqnal quantity 
of the impure air, warmed and vitiated by passing through 
the lungs of inmates. Thus the question is. Shall we shut 
up a chamber and breathe night air vitiated with carbonic 
acid or night air that is pure ? The only real difficulty 
about night air is, that usually it is damper, and therefore 
colder and more likely to chill. This is easily prevented 
by sufficient bed-clothing. 

One other very prevalent mistake is found even in books 
written by learned men. It is often thought that carbonic 
acid, being heavier than common air, sinks to the iioor of 
sleeping-rooms, so that the low trundle-beds for children 
should not be used. This is all a mistake ; for, as a fact, in 
close sleeping-rooms the purest air is below and the most im- 
pure above. It is true that carbonic acid is heavier than com- 
mon air, when pm^e ; but this it rarely is except in chemical 
experiments. It is the property of all gases, as well as of 
the two (oxygen and nitrogen) composing the atmosphere, 
that when brought together they always are entirely mixed, 
each being equally dilFused exactly as it would be if alone. 
Thus the carbonic acid from the skin and lungs, being 
warmed in the body, rises as does the common air, with 
which it mixes, toward the top of a room ; so that usually 
there is more carbonic acid at the top than at the bottom of 
a room.* Both common air and carbonic acid expand and 
become lighter in the same proportions ; that is, for every 
degree of added heat they expand at the rate of -i\-^ of 
their bulk. 

Here, let it be remembered, that in ill-ventilated rooms 
the carbonic acid is not the only cause of disease. Experi- 
ments seem to prove that other matter thrown out of the 
body, through the lungs and skin, is as truly excrement and 
in a state of decay as that ejected from the bowels, and as 



* Prof. Brewer, of tlie Tale Scientific School, says, " As a fact, often 
demonstrated by analysis, there is generally more carbonic acid near the 
ceilino^ than near the floor." 



52 THE ESSENTIAL ELEMENT OF VENTILATION. 



poisonous to the animal system. Carbonic acid has no 
odor; bnt we are warned by the disagreeable effluvia of 
close sleeping-rooms of the other poison thus thrown into 
the air from the skin and lungs. There is one provision of 
nature that is little understood, which saves the lives of 
thousands living in unventilated houses; and that is, the 
passage of pure air inward and impure air outward through 
the pores of bricks, wood, stone, and mortar. Were such 
dwellings changed to tin, which is not thus porous, in less 
than a week thousands and tens of thousands would be in 
danger of perishing by suffocation. 

These statements give some idea of the evils to be reme- 
died. But the most difficult point is how to secure the 
remedy. For often the attempt to secure pure air by one 
class of persons brings chills, colds, and disease on another 
class, from mere ignorance or mismanagement. 

To illustrate this, it must be borne in mind that those 
who live in warm, close, and unventilated rooms are much 
more liable to take cold from exposure to draughts and 
cold air than those of vigorous vitality accustomed to 
breathe pure air. 

Thus the strong and healthy husband, feeling the want 
of pure air in the night, and knowing its importance, keeps 
windows open and makes such draughts that the wife, who 
lives all day in a close room and thus is low in vitality, can 
not bear the" change, has colds, and sometimes perishes a 
victim to wrong modes of ventilation. 

So, even in health-establishments, the patients will pass 
most of their days and nights in badly-ventilated rooms 
But at times the physician, or some earnest patient, insists 
on a mode of ventilation that brings more evil than good 
to the delicate inmates. 

The grand art of ventilating houses is by some method 
that will empty rooms of the vitiated air and bring in a 
supply of pure air hy sm,all and imperceptible currents. 

But this important duty of a Christian woman is one 
that demands more science, care, and attention than 
almost any other; and yet, to prepare her for this duty 
has never been any part of female education. Young 
women are taught to draw mathematical diagrams and to 
solve astronomical problems ; but few, if any, of them are 
taught to solve the problem of a house constructed to se-* 
cure pure and moist air by day and night for all its inmates. 



HEATING A DIFFICULT ABT. 53 



The heating and management of the air we breathe is 
one of the most complicated problems of domestic econo- 
my, as will be farther illustrated in the succeeding chap- 
ter; and yet it is one of which most American women 
ai'e profoundly ignorant. 

'No woman is properly trained for the sacred ministries 
of a home till she has learned a siire mode of supplying 
every inmate of a house with pure air both by day and by 
night. To this must be added a conscientious sense of 
obligation that will lead her to examine the sleeping-room 
of every person in the family, and make it sure that no 
one under her care is being starved and poisoned by her 
neglect. Thousands of servants and young children are 
perishing all over our land for want of such care and at- 
tention from mothers and housekeepers. 



lY. 

SCIENTIFIC DOMESTIC VENTILATION. 

We have seen in the preceding pages the process'through 
which the air is rendered unhealthml by close rooms and 
want of ventilation. Every person inspires air about twenty 
times each minute, using half a pint each time. At this 
rate, every pair of lungs vititates one hogshead of air every 
hour. The membrane that lines the multitudinous air-cells 
of the lungs in which the capillaries are, should it be united 
in one sheet, would cover the floor of a room twelve 
feet square. Every breath brings a surface of air in contact 
with this extent of capillaries, by which the air inspired 
gives up most of its oxygen and receives carbopiic acid in 
its stead. These facts furnish a guide for the proper venti- 
lation of rooms. Just in proportion to the number of per- 
sons in a room or a house, should be the amount of air 
brought in and carried out by arrangements for ventilation. 
But how rarely is this rule regarded in building houses or 
in the care of families by housekeepers ! 

The evils resulting from the substitution of stoves in- 
stead of the open fireplace, have led scientific and benevo- 
lent men to contrive various modes of supplying pure air 
to both public and private houses. But as yet little has 
been accomplished, except for a few of the more intelligent 
and wealthy. The great majority of the American people, 
owing to sheer ignorance, are, for want of pure air, being 
poisoned and starved ; the result being weakened constitu- 
tions, frequent disease, and shortened life. 

Whenever a family -room is heated by an open fire, it is 
duly ventilated, as the impure air is constantly passing oif 
through the chimney, while, to supply the vacated space, 
the pure air presses in through the cracks of doors, win- 
dows, and floors. 'No such supply is gained for, rooms 
warmed by stoves. And yet, from mistaken motives of 
economy, as well as from ignorance of the resulting evils, 
multitudes of householders are thus destroying health and 



EXPERIMENT WITH AIB- CUBBENTS. 



55 




shortening life, especially in regard to women and children 
who spend most of their time within-doors. 

The most successful modes of making " a healthful home " 
by a full supply of pure air to every inmate, will now be 
described and illustrated. 

It is the common property of both air and water to ex- 
pand, become lighter and rise, just in proportion as they 
are heated ; and therefore it is the invariable law that cool 
air sinks, thus replacing the warmer air below. Thus, 
whenever cool air enters a warm room, it sinks downward 
and takes the place of an equal amount of the warmer air, 
which is constantly tending upward and outward. This 
principle of all fluids is illustrated by the following experi- 
ment : 

Take a glass jar about a foot high and three inches in 
diameter, and with a wire to aid in placing it aright, sink 
Fig. 28. a small bit of lighted candle so 

as to stand in the centre at the 
bottom. (Fig. 28.) The candle 
will heat the air of the jar, which 
will rise a little on one side, 
while the colder air without will 
begin falling on the other side. These 
two currents will so conflict as finally 
to cease, and then the candle, having 
no supply of oxygen from fresh air, 
will begin to go out. Insert a bit of 
stifi* paper so as to divide the mouth 
of the jar, and instantly the cold and 
warm air are not in conflict as before, 
because a current is formed each side 
of the paper ; the cold air descending 
on one side and the warm air ascend- 
ing the other side, as indicated by the 
arrows. As long as the paper remains, 
the candle will burn, and as soon as it 
is removed, it will begin to go out, 
and can be restored by again inserting 
the paper. 

This illustrates the mode by which 
coal-mines are ventilated when filled, with carbonic acid. 
A shaft divided into two passages, (Fig. 29,) is let down 
into the mine, where the air is warmer than the outside 



66 



VENTILATION OF MINES. 



Fig. 29. 



air. Immediately the colder air outside presses down into 
the mine, through the passage which is highest, being ad- 
mitted by the escape of an equal quantity of the warmer 
air, which rises through the lower passage, of the shaft, this 
being the first available opening for it to rise through. A 
current is thus created, which continues as long as the 
inside air is warmer than that with- 
out the mine, and no longer. Some- 
times a fire is kindled in the mine, 
in order to continue or increase the 
warmth, and consequent upward cur- 
rent of its air. 

This illustrates one of the cases 
where a " wise woman that buildeth 
her house" is greatly needed. For, 
owing to the ignorance of architects, 
house-builders, and men in general, 
they have been building school- 
houses, dwelling-houses, churches, 
and colleges, with the most absurd 
and senseless contrivances for ventila- 
tion, and all from not applying this 
simple principle of science. On this 
point. Prof. Brewer, of the Scientific 
School of Yale College, writes thus : 

" I have been in public buildings, 
(I have one in mind now, filled wdth 
dormitories,) which cost half a mil- 
lion, where they attempted to venti- 
late every room by a flue, long and 
narrow, built into partition walls, and 
extending up into the capacious gar- 
ret of the fifth story. Every room in 
the building had one such flue, with 
an opening into it at the floor and at 
the ceiling. It is needless to say that 
the whole concern was entirely useless. Had these flues 
been of proper proportions, and properly divided, the desired 
ventilation would have been secured." 

And this piece of ignorant folly was perpetrated in the 
midst of learned professors, teaching the laws of fluids and 
the laws of health. 

A learned physician also thus wrote to the author of 




IMPORTANCE AND DIFFICULTY OF VENTILATION. 57 



this chapter : " The subject of the ventilation of otrr dwell- 
ing-houses is one of the most important questions of our 
times. How many thousands are victims to a slow suicide 
and murder, the chief instrument of whicli is want of ven- 
tilation ! How few are aware of the fact that ever j person, 
every day, vitiates thirty-three hogsheads of the air, and 
that each inspiration takes one fifth of the oxygen, and 
returns as much carbonic acid, from every pair of lungs in 
a room ! How few understand that after air has received 
ten per cent of this fatal gas, if drawn into the lungs, it 
can no longer take carbonic acid from the capillaries 1 No 
wonder there is so much impaired nervous and muscu.lar 
energy, so much scrofula, tubercles, catarrhs, dyspepsia, 
and typhoid diseases. I hope you can do much to remedy 
*the poisonous air of thousands and thousands of stove- 
heated rooms." 

In a cold climate and wintry weather, the grand im- 
pediment to ventilating rooms by opening doors or win- 
dows is the dangerous currents thus produced, which are 
so injurious to the delicate ones that for their sake it can 
not be done. Then, also, as a matter of economy, the 
poor can not afford to practice a method which carries 
oft' the heat generated by their stinted store of fuel. 
Even in a warm season and climate, there are frequent 
periods when the air without is damp and chilly, and yet 
at nearly the same temperature as that in the house. At 
such times, the opening of windows often has little effect 
in emptying a room of vitiated air. The ventilating-flues, 
suck as are used in mines, have, in such cases, but little 
influence ; for it is only when outside air is colder that a 
current can be produced within by this method. 

The most successful mode of ventilating a hotise is by 
creating a current of warm air in a flue, into which an 
opening is made at both the top and the bottom of a room, 
while a similar opening for outside air is made at the op- 
posite side of the room. This is the mode employed in che- 
mical laboratories for removing smells and injurious gases. 

The laboratory-closet is closed with glazed doors, and has- 
an opening to receive pure air through a conductor from 
without. The stove or furnace within has a pipe which joins 
a larger cast-iron chimney-pipe, which is warmed by the 
smoke it receives from this and other fires. This cast-iron 
pipe is surrounded by a brick flue, through which air passes 



58 



KITCHEN VENTILATION. 



Fig. 30. 



from below to be warmed by the pipe, and thus an upward 
current of warm air is created. Openings are then made 
at the top and bottom of the laboratory-closet into the warm- 
air flue, and the gases and smells are pressed by the colder 
air into this flue, and are carried off in the current of warm air. 
The same method is employed in the dwelling-house 

shown in a preceding chapter. 
A cast-iron pipe is made in 
sections, which are to be uni- 
ted, and the whole fastened 
at top and bottom in the cen- 
tre of the warm-air flue by 
ears extending to the bricks, 
. and fastened when the flue is § 
J^ in process of building. Pro- 
jecting openings to receive 
the pipes of the furnace, the 
laundry stove, and two stoves 
in each story, should be pro- 
vided, which must be closed 
when not in use. A large 
opening is to be luade into the 
warm-air flue, and through 
this the kitchen stove-pipe is 
to pass, and be joined to the 
cast-iron chimney-pipe. Thus 
the smoke of the kitchen stove 
will warm the iron chirnney- 
pipe, and this will warm the 
air of the flue, causing a cur- 
rent upward, and this current 
will draw the heat and smells 
of cooking out of the kitchen 
into the opening of the warm- 
air flue. Every room sur- 
rounding the chimney has an 
opening at the top and bottom into the warm-air' flue for 
ventilation, as also have the bath-room and water-closets. 

The writer has examined the methods most employed at 
the present time, which are all modifications of the two 
modes here described. One is that of Eobinson, patented 
by a Boston company, which is a modification of the min- 
ing mode. It consists of the two ventilating tubes,_ such as 




DEFECTIVE MODES OF VENTILATION. 59 



are employed in mines, united in one shaft with a roof to 
keep out rain, and a valve to regulate the entrance and exit 
of air, as illustrated in Fig. 30. This method works well 
in certain circumstances, but fails so often as to prove very 
unreliable. Another mode is that of Ruttan, which is 
effected by heating air. This also has certain advantages 
and disadvantages. But the mode adopted for the pre- 
ceding cottage plan is free from the difficulties of both the 
above methods, while it will surely ventilate every room in 
the house, both by day and night, and at all seasons, without 
any risk to health, and requiring no attention or care from 
the family. 

By means of a very small amount of fuel in the kitchen 
stove, to be described hereafter, the whole house can be 
ventilated, and all the cooking done both in warm and cold 
weather. This stove will also warm the whole house, in the 
J^orthern States, eight or nine months in the year. Two 
Franklin stoves, in addition, will warm the whole bouse 
during the three or four remaining coldest months. 

In a warm climate or season, by means of the non-con- 
ducting castings, the stove will ventilate the house and do 
all the cooking, without imparting heat or smells to any 
part of the house except the stove-closet. 

At the close of this volume, drawings, prepared by Mr. 
Lewis Leeds, are given, more fully to illustrate this mode 
of warming and ventilation, and in so plain and simple a 
form that any intelligent woman who has read this work 
can see that the plan is properly executed, even with work- 
men so entirely ignorant on this important subject as are 
most house-builders, especially in the newer territories. In 
the same article, directions are given as to the best modes 
of ventilating houses that are already built without any 
arrangements for ventilation. 



Y. 

THE CONSTKirCTION AKD CAEE OF STOVESj FUKNACES, AOT) 



CHIMNEYS. 



If all American housekeepers could be taught how to 
select and manage the most economical and convenient 
apparatus for cooking and for warming a nouse, many 
millions now wasted by ignorance and neglect would be 
saved. Every woman should be taught the scientific prin- 
ciples in regard to heat, and then their application to prac- 
tical purposes, for her own benefit, and also to enable her 
to train her children and servants in this important duty 
of home life on which health and comfort so much de- 
pend. 

The laws that regulate the generation, diffusion, and pre- 
servation of heat as yet are a sealed mystery to thousands 
of young women who imagine they are completing a suit- 
able education in courses of instruction from which most 
that is practical in future domestic life is wholly excluded. 
We therefore give a brief outline of some of the leading 
scientific principles which every housekeeper should un- 
derstand and employ, in order to perform successfully one 
of her most important duties. 

Concerning the essential nature of heat, and its intimate 
relations with the other great natural forces, light, electri- 
city, etc., we shall not attempt to treat, but shall, for prac- 
tical purposes, assume it to be a separate and independent 
force. 

Heat or caloric, then, has certain powers or principles. 
Let us consider them : 

First, we find Conduction, by which heat passes from one 
particle to another next to it ; as when one end of a poker 
is warmed by placing the other end in the fire. The bodies 
which allow this power free course are called conductors, 
and those which do not are named non-conductors. Metals 
are good conductors ; feathers, wool, and furs are poor con- 
ductors ; and water, air, and gases are non-conductors. 



PRINCIPLES OF HEAT— CONVECTION, RADIATION. 61 



Another principle of lieat is Convection, by which water, 
air, and gases are warmed. This is, literally, the process 
of conveying heat from one portion of a fluid body to an- 
other by currents resulting from changes of temperature. 
It is secured by bringing one portion of a liquid or gas 
into contact with a heated surface, whereby it becomes 
lighter and expanded in volume. In consequence, the 
cooler and heavier particles above pressing downward, 
the lighter ones rise upward, when the former, being 
heated, rise in their turn, and give place to others again 
descending from above. Thus a constant motion of cur- 
rents and interchange of particles is produced until, as in 
a vessel of water, the whole body comes to an equal tem- 
perature. Air . is heated in. the same way. In case of a 
hot stove, the air that touches it is heated, becomes lighter, 
and rises, giving place to cooler and heavier particles, 
which, when heated, also ascend. It is owing to this pro- 
cess that the air of a room is warmest at the top and coolest 
at the bottom. 

It is owing to this principle, also, that water and air 
can not be heated by fire from above. For the particles 
of these bodies, being non-conductors, do not impart heat 
to each other ; and when the warmest are at the top, they 
can not take the place of cooler and heavier ones below. 

Another principle of heat (which it shares with light) is 
Radiation, by which all things send out heat to surround- 
ing coolei 'bodies. Some bodies will absorb radiated heat, 
others will reflect it, and others allow it to pass through 
them without either absorbing or reflecting. Thus, black 

and rough substances ab- 
Fig. 31. sorb heat, (or light,) col- 

ored and smooth articles 
reflect it, while air allows 
it to pass through without 
either absorbing or re- 
flecting. It is owing to 
this, that rough and black 
vessels boil water sooner 
' than smooth and light- 
colored ones. 

Another principle is Reflection, by which heat radiated 
to a surface is turned back from it when not absorbed or 
allowed to pass through ; just as a ball rebounds fi'om a 



62 



REFLECTION— ORDINAR Y HE A TING. 



Fig. 33. 




wall; just as sound is thrown back from a hill, making 
echo; just as rays of light are reflected from a mirror. 
And, as with light, the rays of heat are always reflected 
from a surface in an angle exactly corresponding to the di- 
rection in which it strikes 
that surface. Thus, if 
heated air comes to an 
object perpendicularly — 
that is, at right angles, it 
will be reflected back in 
the same line. (Fig. 31.) 
if it strikes obliquely, it is 
reflected obliquely, at an 
angle with the surface 
precisely the same as the 
angle with which it first struck. (Fig. 32.) And, of course, 
if it moves toward the surface and comes upon it in a line 
having so small an angle with it as to be almost parallel 
with it, the heated air is spread wide and difiused through 
a larger space than when the angles are greater and the 
width of reflection less. (Fig. 33.) 

The simplest mode of warming a house and cooking food 
is by radiated heat from fires ; but this is the most wasteful 
method, as I'espects time, labor, and expense. The most con- 
venient, economical, and labor-saving mode of employing 
heat is by convection, as applied in stoves and furnaces. 
But for want of proper care and scientific knowledge this 
method has proved very destructive to health. When 
warming and cooking 
were done by open fires, ^s- ^^• 

houses were well supplied 
with pure air, as is rarely 
the case in rooms heated 
by stoves. For such is the prevailing ignorance on this 
subject that, as long as stoves save labor and warm the air, 
the great majority of people, especially among the poor, 
will use them in ways that involve debilitated constitu- 
tions and frequent disease. 

The most common modes of cooking, where open fires 
are relinquished, are by the range and the cooking-stove. 
The range is inferior to the stove in these respects : it is 
less economical, demanding much more fuel ; it endangers 
the dress 'of the cook while standing near for various ope- 



THE MODEL STOVE. 



63 



rations; it requires more stooping than the stove while 
cooking ; it will not keep a fire all night, as do the best 
stoves ; it will not burn wood and coal equally well ; and 
lastly, if it warms the kitchen sufficiently in winter, it is 
too warm for summer. Some prefer it because the fumes 
of cooking can be carried off; but stoves properly arranged 
accomplish this equally well. 

After extensive inquiry and many personal experiments, 
the author has found a cooking-stove constructed on true 
scientific principles, which unites convenience, comfort, and 
economy in a remarkable manner. Of this stove, drawings 
and descriptions will now be given, as the best mode of 
illustrating the practical applications of these principles to 



Fig. 34. 




the art of cooking, and to show how much American wo- 
men have suffered and how much they have been imposed 
upon for want of proper knowledge in this branch of their 
profession. And every woman can understand what fol- 



64 INTEBIOR OF THE MODEL STOVE. 



t-- 



lows with mucli less effort tlian young girls at high-schools 
give to the first problems of Geometrj — for which thej will 
never have any practical use, while attention to this prob- 
lem of home affairs will cultivate the intellect quite as 
much as the abstract reasonings of Algebra and Geometry. 

Fig. 34 represents a portion of the interior of this cook- 
ing-stove. First, notice the fire-box, which has corrugated 
(literally, wrinkled) sides, by which space is economized, 
so that as much heating surface is secured as if they were 
one third larger ; as the heat radiates from every part of 
the undulating surface, which is one third greater in super- 
ficial extent than if it were plane. The shape of the fire- 
box also secures more heat by having oblique sides — 
which radiate more effectively into the oven beneath than 
if they were perpendicular, as illustrated below — while 
also it is sunk into the oven, so as to radiate from three 
instead of from two sides, as in most other stoves, the 
front of whose fire-boxes with their grates are built so as 
to be the front of the stove itself. 

The oven is the space under and around the back and 
front sides of the fire-box. -p. „« 

°' ' ^^ ihe oven- bottom is not 
FIRE /:: ■ introduced in the dia- 
BOX / ■::•■' gram, but it is a horizon- 
tal plate between the fire- 

/ '' j j.\\\ ' box and what is represen- 

^^^^ ted as the "flue-plate," 



Model Stove. which Separates the oven ordinary stove. 

from the bottom of the 
stove. The top of the oven is the horizontal corrugated plate 
passing from the rear edge of the fire-box to the back flues. 
These are three in number — the back centre-flue, which 
is closed to the heat and smoke coming over the oven from 
the fire-box by a damper — and the two back corner-flues. 
Down these two corner-flues passes the current of hot air 
and smoke, having first drawn across the corrugated oven- 
top. The arrows show its descent through these flues, 
from which it obliquely strikes and passes over the flue- 
plate, then under it, and then out through the centre back- 
flue, which is open at the bottom, up into the smoke-pipe. 
The flue-plate is placed obliquely, to accumulate heat by 
forcing and compression; for the back space where the 
smoke enters from the corner-flues is largest, and decreases 



ITS EXTERNAL BABIATION, « 65 



toward the front, so that the hot current is compressed in a 
narrow space, between the oven-bottom and the flue-plate 
at the place where the bent arrows are seen. Here again 
it enters a wider space, under the flue-plate, and proceeds 
to another narrow one, between the flue-plate and the 
bottom of the stove, and thus is compressed and re- 
tained longer than if not impeded bj these various con- 
trivances. The heat and smoke also strike the plate 
obliquely, and thus, by reflection from its surface, impart 
more heat than if the passage was a horizontal one. 

The external radiation is regulated by the use of non- 
conducting plaster applied to the flue-plate and to the sides 
of the corner-flues, so that the heat is prevented from radi- 
ating in any direction except toward the oven. The doors, 
sides, and bottom of the stove are lined with tin casings, 
which hold a stratum of air, also a non-conductor. These are 
so arranged as to be removed whenever the weather becomes 
cold, so that the heat may then radiate into the kitchen. 
The outer edges of the oven are also similarly protected fr-om 
loss of heat by tin casings and air-spaces, and the oven-doors 
opening at the front of the store are provided with the same 
economical savers of heat. High tin covers placed on the 
top prevent the heat from radiating above the stove. 
These are exceedingly useful, as the space under them is 
well heated and arranged for baking, for heating irons, 
and many other incidental necessities. Cake and pies can 
be baked on the top, while the oven is used for bread or 
for meats. "When all the casings and covers are on, almost 
all the heat is confined within the stove, and whenever 
heat for the room is wanted, opening the front oven-doors 
turns it out into the kitchen. 

Another contrivance is that of ventilating-holes in the 
front doors, through which fresh air is brought into the 
oven. This secures several purposes : it carries off the 
fumes of cooking meats, and prevents the mixing of flavors 
when different articles are cooked in the oven ; it drives 
the heat that accumulates between the fire-box and front 
doors down around the oven, and equalizes its heat, so that 
articles need not be moved while baking ; and lastly, as 
the air passes through the holes of the fire-box, it causes 
the burning of gases in the smoke, and thus increases heat. 
When wood or bituminous coal is used, perforated metal 
linings are put in the fire-box, and the result is the burn- 



66 ADVANTAGEOUS FEATURES 



ing of smoke and gases tliat otherwise would pass into tlie 
cliimney. This is a great discovery in the economy of 
fuel, which can be applied in many ways. 

Heretofore, most cooking-stoves have had dumping-grates, 
which are inconvenient from the dust produced, are uneco- 
nomical in the use of fuel, and disadvantageous from too 
many or too loose joints. But recently this stove has been 
provided with a dumping-grate which also will sift ashes, 
and can be cleaned without dust and the other objection- 
able features of dumping-grates. A further account of this 
stove, and the mode of purchasing and using it, will be 
given at the close of the book. 

Those who are taught to manage the stove properly 
keep the fire going all night, and equally well with wood 
or coal, thus saving the expense of kindling and the trouble 
of starting a new fire. When the fuel is of good quality, 
all that is needed in the morning is to draw the back- 
damper, shake the grate, and add more fuel. 

Another remarkable feature of this stove is the extension- 
top, on which is placed a water reservoir, constantly heated 
by the smoke as it passes from the stove, through one or two 
uniting passages, to the smoke-pipe. IJnder this is placed 
a closet for warming and keeping hot the dishes, vegetables, 
meats, etc., while preparing for dinner. It is also very 
useful in drying fruit ; and when large baking is required, 
a small appended pot for charcoal turns it into a fine large 
oven, that bakes as nicely as a brick oven. 

Another useful appendage is a common tin oven, in 
which roasting can be done in front of the stove, the oven- 
doors being removed for the purpose. The roast will be 
done as perfectly as by an open fire. 

This stove is furnished with pipes for heating water, like 
the water-back of ranges, and these can be taken or left 
out at pleasure. So also the top covers, the baking-stool 
and pot, and the summer-back, bottom, and side-casings 
can be used or omitted as preferred. 

Fig. 3Y exhibits the stove completed, with all its appen- 
dages, as they might be employed in cooking for a large 
number. 

Its capacity, convenience, and economy as a stove may 
be estimated by the following fact : "With proper manage- 
ment of dampers, one ordinary-sized coal-hod of anthracite 
coal will, for twenty-four hours, keep the stove running, 



OF TEE MODEL STOVE. 



67 



keep seventeen gallons of water hot at all hours, bake pies 
and puddings in the warm closet, heat flat-irons under the 
back cover, boil tea-kettle and one pot under the front 
cover, bake bread in the oven, and cook a turkey in the 
tin roaster in front. The author has numerous friends, 
who, after trying the best ranges, havs dismissed them for 



Fig. 37. 




this stove, and in two or three years cleared the whole ex- 
pense by the saving of fuel. 

The remarkable durability of this stove is another eco- 
nomic feature. For in addition to its fine castings and 
nice-fitting workmanship, all the parts liable to burn out 
are so protected by linings, and other contrivances easily 
renewed, that the stove itself may pass from one genera- 
tion to another, as do ordinary chimneys. The writer has 
visited in families where this stove had been in constant 



CHIMNEYS. 



use for eighteen and twenty years, and was still as good as 
new. In most other families the stoves are broken, bnrnt- 
ont, or thrown aside for improved patterns every four, 
■ ^YQ^ or six years, and sometimes, to the knowledge of the 
writer, still oftener. 

Another excellent point is that, although it is so com- 
plicated in its various contrivances as to demand intelli- 
gent management in order to secure all its advantages, it 
also can be used satisfactorily even when the- mistress and 
maid are equally careless and ignorant of its distinctive 
merits. To such it offers all the advantages of ordinary 
good stoves, and is extensively used by those who take no 
pains to understand and apply its peculiar advantages. 

But the writer has managed the stove herself in all the 
details of cooking, and is confident that any housekeeper 
of common sense, who is instructed properly, and who also 
aims to have her kitchen affairs managed with strict eco- 
nomy, can easily train any servant who is willing to learn, 
BO as to gain the full advantages offered. And even with- 
out any instructions at all, except the printed directions 
sent with the stove, an intelligent woman can, by due 
attention, though not without, both manage it, and teach 
her children and servants to do likewise. And whenever 
this stove has failed to give the highest satisfaction, it has 
been, either because the housekeeper was not apprised of 
its peculiarities, or because she did not give sufficient 
attention to the matter, or was not able or willing to super- 
intend and direct its management. 

The consequence has been that, in families where this 
stove has been understood and managed aright, it has 
saved nearly one half of the fuel that would be used in ordi- 
nary stoves, constructed with the usual disregard of scien- 
tific and economic laws. And it is because we know this 
particular stove to be convenient, reliable, and economi- 
cally efficient beyond ordinary experience, in the important 
housekeeping element of kitchen labor, that we devote to 
it so much space and pains to describe its advantageous 
points. 

CHIMNETS. 

One of the most serious evils in domestic life is often 
found in chimneys that will not properly draw the smoke 



POOR CHIMNEY DRAUGHTS. 69 



of a fire or stove. Although, chimneys have been building 
for a thousand years, the artisans of the present day seem 
strangely ignorant of the true method of constructing them 
so as always to carry smoke upward instead of downward. 
It is rarely the case that a large house is built in which 
there is not some flue or chimney which "will not draw." 
One of the reasons why the stove described as- excelling all 
others is sometimes cast aside for a poorer one is, that it 
requires a, properly constructed chimney, and multitudes 
of women do not know how to secure it. The writer in 
early life shed many a bitter tear, drawn forth by smoke 
from an ill-constructed kitchen-chimney, and thousands 
all over the land can report the same experience. 

The following are some of the causes and the remedies 
for this evil. 

The most common cause of poor chimney draughts is too 
large an opening for the fireplace, either too wide or too 
high in front, or having too large a throat for the smoke. 
In a lower story, the hreplace should not be larger than, 
thirty inches wide, twenty-five inches high, and fifteen deep. 
In the story above, it should be eighteen inches square and 
fifteen inches deep. 

Another cause is too short a flue, and the remedy is to 
lengthen it. As a general rule, the longer the flue the 
stronger the draught. But in calculating the length of a 
flue, reference must be had to side-flues, if any open into it. 
Where this is the case, the length of the main flue is to be 
considered as extending only from the bottom to the point 
where the upper flue joins it, and where the lower will 
receive air from the upper flue. If a smoky flue can not 
be increased in length, either by closing an upper flue or 
lengthening the chimney, the fireplace must be contracted 
so that all the air near the fire will be heated and thus 
pressed upward. 

If a flue has more than one opening, in some cases it is 
impossible to secure a good draught. Sometimes it will 
work well and sometimes it will not. The only safe rule is 
to have a separate flue to each fire. 

Another cause of poor draughts is too tight a room, so^ 
that the cold air from without can not enter to press the 
warm air up the chimney. The remedy is to admit a small 
current of air from without. 

Another cause is two chimneys in one room, or in rooms 



70 CAUSES AND REMEDIES OF POOR DBAUGHTS. 



Opening together, in whicli tlie draught in one is much 
stronger than in the other. In this case, the stronger 
draught will draw away from the weaker. The remedy is, 
for each room to have a proper supply of outside air ; or, 
in a single room, to stop one of the chimneys. 

Another cause is the too close vicinity of a hill or build- 
ings higher than the top of the chimney, and the remedy 
for this is to raise the chimney. 

Another cause is the descent, into unused fireplaces, of 
smoke from other chimneys near. The remedy is to close 
the throat of the unused chimney. 

Another cause is a door opening toward the fireplace, 
on the same side of the room, so that its draught passes 
along the wall and makes a current that draws out the 
smoke. The remedy is to change the hanging of the door 
so as to open another way. 

Another cause is strong winds. The remedy is a turn- 
cap on top of the chimney. 

Another cause is the roughness of the inside of a chim- 
ney, or projections which impede the passage of the smoke. 
Every chimney should be built of equal dimensions from 
bottom to top, with no projections into it, with as few bends 
as possible, and with the surface of the inside as smooth 
as possible. 

Another cause of poor draughts is openings into the 
chimney of chambers for stove-pipes. The remedy is to 
close them, or insert stove-pipes that are in use. 

Another cause is the falling out of brick in some part of 
the chimney so that outer air is admitted. The remedy is 
to close the opening. 

The draught of a stove may be affected by most of these 
causes. It also demands that the fireplace have a tight 
fire-board, or that the throat be carefully filled. For neg- 
lecting this, many a good stove has been thrown aside and 
a poor one taken in its place. 

If all young women had committed to memory these 
causes of evil and their remedies, many a badly-built chim- 
ney might have been cured, and many smoke-drawn tears, 
sighs, ill-tempers, and irritating words avoided. 

But there are dangers in this direction which demand 
special attention. Where one fine has two stoves or fire- 
places, in rooms one above the other, in certain states of the 
atmosphere, the lower room, being the warmer, the colder 



FUBNACES. 71 



air and carbonic acid in the room above will pass down into 
the lower room through the opening for the stove or the 
fireplace. 

This occurred not long since in a boarding-school, when 
the gas in a room above flowed into a lower one, and suffo- 
cated several to death. This r(i^om had no mode of venti- 
lation, and several persons sle]t^. in it, and were thus sti- 
lled. Professor Brewer states 2 similar case in the family 
of aa^elative. An anthracite f^tove was used in the upper 
room ; and on one still, close night, the gas from this stove 
descended through the flue and t^e opening into a room below, 
and stifled two persons to instfisibility, though, by proper 
eflbrts, their lives were saved. Many such cases have oc- 
curred where rooms have been thus filled with poisonous 
gases, and servants and children destroyed, or their consti- 
tutions injured, simply because housekeepers are not pro- 
perly instructed in this unportant branch of their profession. 

FUBNACES. 

There is no improved mechanism in the economy of 
domestic life requiring more intelligent management than 
furnaces. Let us then consider some of the principles in- 
volved. 

The earth is heated by radiation from the sun. The air 
is not warmed by the passage of the sun's heat through it, 
but by convection from the earth, in the same way that it 
is warmed by the surfaces of stoves. The lower stratum 
of air is warmed by the earth and by objects which have 
been warmed by radiated heat from the sun. The par- 
ticles of air thus heated expand, become lighter, and rise, 
being replaced by the descent of the cooler and heavier 
particles from above, which, on being warmed also rise, 
and give place to others. Owing to this process, the air 
is warmest nearest the earth, and grows cooler as height 
increases. 

The air has a strong attraction for water, and always 
holds a certain quantity as invisible vapor. The warmer 
tlie air, the more nioisture it demands, and it will draw it 
from all objects within reach. The air holds water accord- 
ing to its temperature. Thus, at fifty-two degrees, Fah- 
renheit's thermometer, it holds half the moisture it can 
sustain ; but . at thirty-six degrees, it will hold only one 



^2 MOIST^^BB IN THE ATMOSPHERE. 



eighty-sixtli part. The\earth and all plants and trees are 
constantly sending out n:oistnre ; and when the an- has re- 
ceived all it can hold, without depositing it as dew, it is 
said to be saturated^ and thq point of temperature at which 
dew begins to form, by condensation, upon the surface 
of the earth and its vege/;ation, is called the dew-jpoint. 
When air, at a given temy-erature, has only forty per cent 
of the moisture it requirCf^c for saturation, it is said to be 
dry. In a hot summer c'-^y, the air will hold far more 
moisture than in cool da^s. In summer, o'ut-door air 
rarely holds less than half ^^ts volume of water. In 1838, 
at Cambridge, Massachusf/tts, and J^ew-Haven, Connecti- 
cut, at seventy degrees, Fahrenheit, the air held eighty per 
cent of moisture. 

In New-Orleans, the air often retains ninety per cent of 
the moisture it is capable of holding ; and in cool days at 
the North, in foggy weather, the air is sometimes wholly 
saturated. 

When air holds all the moisture it can, without deposit- 
ing dew, its moisture is called 100. When it holds three 
fourths of this, it is said to be at seventy-five per cent. 
When it holds only one half, it is at fifty per cent. When 
it holds only one fourth, it is at twenty-five per 
cent, etc. 

Sanitary observers teach that the proper amount of mois- 
ture in the air ranges from forty to seventy per cent of 
saturation. 

Now, furnaces, which are of course used only in winter, 
receive outside air at a low temperature, holding little 
moisture ; and heating it greatly increases its demand for 
moisture. This it sucks up, like a sponge, from the walls 
and furniture of a house. If it is taken into the human 
lungs, it draws much of its required moisture from the body, 
ofteii causing dryness of lips and throat, and painfully af- 
fecting the lungs. Prof. Brewer, of the Scientific School 
of New-Haven, who has experimented extensively on this 
subject, states that, while forty per cent of moisture is 
needed in air to make it healthful, most stoves and furnaces 
do not, by any contrivances, supply one half of this, or 
not twenty per cent. He says most furnace-heated air is 
dryer than is ever breathed in the hottest deserts of Sa- 
hara. 

Thus, for want of proper instruction, most American 



FURNACES DRY THE AIR. 73 



housekeepers not only poison tlieir families with carbonic 
acid and starve them ibr want of oxygen, but also diminish 
health and comfort for want of a diiO; supply of moisture 
in the air. And often when a remedy is sought, by evapo- 
rating water in the furnace, it is without knowing that the 
amount evaporated depends, not on the quantity of water 
in the vessel, but on the extent of evaporating surface 
exposed to the air. A quart of water ia a wide shallow 
pan will give more moisture tl\an two gallons with a small 
surface exposed to heat. 

There is also no little wise economy in e^^pense attained 
by keeping a proper supply of moisture in the air. For 
it is found tliat the body radiates its heat less in moist 
than in dry air, so that a person feels as warm at a lower 
temperature when the air has a proper supply of moisture, 
as in a much higher temperature of dry air. Of course, 
less fuel is needed to warm a house when water is evapo- 
rated in stove and furnace-heated rooms. It is said by those 
who have experimented, that the saving in fuel is twenty 
per cent when the air is duly supplied with moisture. 

There is a very ingenious instrument, called the hygro- 
deik, which indicates the exact amount of moisture in the 
air. It consists of two. thermometers side by side, one of 
which has its bulb surrounded by floss-silk wrapping, which 
is kept constantly wet by communication with a cup of 
water near it. The water around the bulb evaporates just 
in proportion to the heat of the air around it. The chang- 
ing of water to vapor draws heat from the nearest object, 
and this being the bulb of the thermometer, the mercury 
is cooled and sinks. Then the difference between the two 
thermometers shows the amount of moisture in tJie air by 
a pointer on a dial-plate constructed by simple mechanism 
for this purpose. 

There is one very important matter in regard to the use 
of furnaces, which is thus stated by Professor Brewer : 

" I think it is a well-established fact that carbonic oxide 
will pass through iron. It is always formed in great abun- 
dance in any anthracite fire, but especially in anthracite 
stoves and furnaces. Moreover, furnaces always leak, more 
or less; how much they leak depending on the care and 
skill with which they are managed. Carbonic oxide is 
much more poisonous than carbonic acid. Doubtless some 
carbonic oxide finds its way into all furnace-heated houses, 



74 EVILS OF EXCESSIVE DRYNESS. 



eBpecially where anthracite is used; the amonnt varying 
witli the' kind of furnace and its management. As to how 
mncli escapes into a /room, and its specific effect upon the 
health of its occnpajnts, we have no accurate data, no analy- 
sis to show the qii^antity, and no observations to show the 
relation between ^he quantity inhaled and the health of 
those exposed ; all/ is mere conjecture upon this point ; but 
the inference is .Very strong that it has a very injurious 
efiect, producing/ 'headaches, weariness, and other similar 
symptoms. / 

" Eecent pamphlets lay the blame of all the bad effects 
of anthracite furnaces and stoves to the carbonic oxide min- 
gled in the air. I think these pamphlets have a bad influ- 
ence. JExcessive dryness also has bad effects. So also the 
excessive heat in the evenings and coolness in the mornings 
has a share in these evils. But how much in addition is 
owing to carbonic oxide, we can not know, until we know 
something of the actual amount of this gas in rooms, and 
as yet we know absolutely nothing definite. In fact, it will 
be a difficult thing to^pr6''y^." 

There are other difficulties connected with furnaces which 
should be considered. It is necessary to perfect health that 
an equal circulation of the blood be preserved. The great- 
est impediment to this is keeping the head warmer than the 
feet. This is especially to be avoided in a nation where the 
brain is by constant activity drawing the blood from the 
extremities. And nowhere is this more important than 
in schools, churches, colleges, lecture and recitation-rooms, 
where the brain is called into active exercise. And yet, 
furnace-heated rooms always keep the feet in the coldest 
air, on cool fioors, while the head is in the warmest air. 

Another difficulty is the fact that all bodies tend to radi- 
ate their heat to each other, till an equal temperature exists. 
Thus, the human body is constantly radiating its heat to 
the walls, floors, and cooler bodies around. At the same 
time, a thermometer is afiected in the same way, radiating 
its heat to cooler bodies around, so that it always marks a 
lower degree of heat than actually exists in the warm air 
around it. Owing to these facts, the injected air of a fur- 
nace is always warmer than is good for the lungs, and much 
warmer than is ever needed in rooms warmed by radiation 
from fires or heated surfaces. The cooler the air we inspire, 
the more oxygen is received, the faster the blood circulates, 



HO USE-HE A TING. tjQ 



and tlie greater is the vigor imparted to brain, nerves, and 
muscles. 

Scientific men have been contriving various modes of 
meeting these diificiilties, and at the close of this voh.ime 
some results will be given to aid a woman in selecting and 
managing the most healthful and economical furnace, or in 
providing some better method of warming a house. Some 
account will also be given of the danger involved in gas- 
stoves, and some other recent inventions for cooking and 
heating. 



YI. 

HOME DECORATION'. 

Haying duly arranged for tlie physical necessities of a 
healthful and "comfortable home, we next approach the 
important subject of heauty in reference to the deco- 
ration of houses. For while the aesthetic element must be 
subordinate to the requirements of physical existence, and, 
as a matter of expense, should be held of inferior con- 
sequence to means of higher moral growth ; it yet holds 
a place of great significance among the influences which 
make home happy and attractive, which give it a constant 
and wholesome power over the young, and contributes 
much to the education of the entire household in refine- 
ment, intellectual development, and moral sensibility. 

Here we are met by those who tell us that of course 
they want their houses handsome, and that, when they 
get money enough, they intend to have them so, but at 
present they are too poor, and because they are poor 
they dismiss the subject altogether, and live without any 
regard to it. 

We have often seen people who said that they could not 
afford to make their houses beautiful, who had spent upon 
them, outside or in, an amount of money which did not 
produce either beauty or comfort, and which, if judiciously 
applied, might have made the house quite charming. 

For example, a man, in building his house, takes a plan 
of an architect. This plan includes, on the outside, a 
number of what Andrew Fairservice called " curly wur- 
lies" and " whigmaliries," which make the house neither 
prettier nor more comfortable, and which take up a good 
deal of money. We would venture to say that we could 
buy the chromo of Bierstadt's " Sunset in the Yo Semite 
Yalley," and four others like it, for half the sum that 
we have sometimes seen laid out on a very ugly, nar- 
row, awkward porch on the outside of a house. The 



EXPENSE OF THE OBDINART MODE. " 77 



only use of this porch, was to cost money, and to cause 
every body who looked at it to exclaim as they went by, 
"What ever induced that man to put a thing like that 
on the outside of his house ?" 

Then, again, in the inside of houses, we have seen a 
dwelling looking very bald and bare, when a sufficient 
sum of money had been expended on one article to have 
made the whole very pretty : and it has come about in this 
way. 

We will suppose the couple who own the house to be in 
the condition in which people generally are after they 
have built a house — having spent more than they could 
afford on the building itself, and yet feeling themselves 
under the necessity of getting some furniture. 

"JSTow," says the housewife, "I must at least have a 
parlor-carpet. We must get that to begin with, and other 
things as we go on." She goes to a store to look at carpets. 
The clerks are smiling and obliging, and sweetly compla- 
cent. The storekeeper, perhaps, is a neighbor or a friend, 
and after exhibiting various patterns, he tells her of a 
Brussels carpet he is selling wonderfully cheap — actually a 
dollar and a quarter less a yard than the usual price of 
Brussels, and the reason is that it is an unfashionable pat- 
tern, and he has a good deal of it, and wishes to close it off. 

She looks at it and thinks it is not at all the kind of car- 
pet she meant to buy, but then it is Brussels, and so cheap ! 
And as she hesitates, her friend tells her that she will find 
it " cheapest in the end — that one Brussels carpet will out- 
last three or four ingrains," etc., etc. 

The result of all this is, that she buys the Brussels carpet, 
which, with all its reduction in price, is one third dearer 
than the ingrain would have been, and not half so pretty. 
When she comes home, she will find that she has spent, we 
will say eighty dollars, for a very homely carpet whose 
greatest merit it is an affliction to remember — namely, that 
it will outlast three ordinary carpets. And because she 
has bought this carpet she can not afford to paper the walls 
or put up any window-curtains, and can not even begin to 
think of buying any pictures. 

ISTow let us see what eighty dollars could have done for 
that room-. We will suppose, in the first place, she invests 
in thirteen rolls of wall-paper of a lovely shade of buff, 
which will make the room look sunshiny in the day-time, 



78 TEE CHEAPER WAY— MATTING— C'OLOB. 



and light up brilliaiitlj in tlie evening. Thirteen rolls of 
good satin paper, at thirty-seven cents a roll, expends fonr 
dollars and eighty-one cents. A maroon bordering, made 
in imitation of the choicest French style, which can not at 
a distance be told from it, can be bought for six cents a 
yard. This will bring the paper to abont five dollars and 
a half; and onr friends will give a day of their time to 
putting it on. The room already begins to look furnished. 

Then, let us cover the floor with, say, thirty yards of 
good matting, at fifty cents a yard. This gives us a carpet 
for fifteen dollars. We are here stopped by the prejudice 
that matting is not good economy, because it wears out so 
soon. We humbly submit that it is precisely the thing for 
a parlor, which is reserved for the reception-room of 
friends, and for our own dressed leisure hours. Matting is 
not good economy in a dining-room or a hard-worn sitting- 
room ; but such a parlor as we are describing is precisely 
the place where it answers to the very best advantage. 

We. have in mind one very attractive parlor which has 
been, both for summer and winter, the daily sitting-room 
for the leisure hours of a husband and wife, and family 
of children, where a plain straw matting has done ser- 
vice for seven years. That parlor is in a city, and these 
friends are in the habit of receiving visits from people who 
live upon velvet and Brusssls ; but they prefer to spend the 
money which such carpets would cost on other modes of 
embellishment ; and this parlor has often been cited to us 
as a very attractive room. 

And now our friends, having got thus far, are requested 
to select some one tint or color which shall be the prevail- 
ing one in the furniture of the room. Shall it be green ? 
Shall it be blue ? Shall it be crimson ? To carry on our 
illustration, we will choose green, and we proceed with it 
to create furniture for our room. Let us imagine that on 
one side of the fireplace there be, as there is often, a recess 
about six feet long and three feet deep. Fill this recess 
v/ith a rough frame with four stout legs, one foot high, and 
upon the top of the frame have an elastic rack of slats. 
Make a mattress for this, or, if you wish to avoid that trou- 
ble, you can get a nice mattress for the sum of two dollars, 
made of cane-shavings or husks. Cover this with a green 
English furniture print. The glazed English comes at 
about twenty-five cents a yard, the glazed French at 



LAMBBEQUINS— CUETAmS 



79 



Fig. 38, 



seventy-five cents a yard, and a nice article of yard- wide 
Prench twill (very strong) is from seventy -five to eighty 
cents a yard. 

With any of these cover yonr lounge. Make two large, 
square pillows of the same substance as the mattress, and 
set up at the back. If you happen to have one or two 
feather pillows that you can spare for the purpose, shake 
them down into a square shape and cover them with the 
same print, and you will then have four pillows for your 
lounge — one at each end, and two at the back, 'and you 
will find it answers for all the purposes of a sofa. 

It will be a very pretty thing, now, to cut out of the 
same material as your lounge, sets of lambrequins (or, as 
they are called, lamberldns^ a kind of pendent curtain-top, 
as shown in the illustration, to put over the windows, 
which are to be embellished with white muslin curtains. 
The cornices to your windows can be simply strips of 
wood covered with paper to match the bordering of your 

room, and the 
lambrequins, 
made of chintz 
like the lounge, 
can be trimmed 
with fringe or 
gimp of the same 
color. The pat- 
terns of these can 
be varied accord- 
ing to fancy, but 
simple designs 
are usually the 
prettiest. A tas- 
sel at the lowest 
point improves 
the appearance. 

The curtains 
can be made of 
plain white mus- 
lin, or some of 
the many styles 
that come for 
this purpose. If plain muslin is used, you can ornament 
them with hems an inch in width, in which insert a strip of 




80 



L UNGE8—ABM- CHAIRS. 



.gingliam or cliambray of the same color as your cliintz. 
This will wash with the curtains without losing its color, 
or should it fade, it can easily be drawn out and re- 
placed. 

The influence of white-muslin curtains in giving an air 
of grace and elegance to a room is astonishing. White 
curtains really create a room out of nothing. No matter 
how coarse the muslin, so it be white and hang in graceful 
folds, there is a charm in it that supplies the want of mul- 
titudes of other things. 

Yery pretty curtain-muslin can be bought at thirty- 
seven cents a yard. It requires six yards for a window. 

Let your men-folk knock up for you, out of rough, un- 
planed boards, some ottoman frames, as described in Chap- 
ter II. ; stuff the. tops with just the same material as the 
lounge, and cover them with the self-same chintz. 

l^owyou 
have, sup- ^^s- 39. 

pose your 
selected 
color to 
be green, 
a green 
lounge in 
the corner 
and two 
green otto- 
mans ; you 
have white 
muslin cur- 
tains, with 
green lam- 
brequins 
and bor- 
ders, and 
your room 

already looks furnished. If you have in the house any 
broken-down arm-chair, reposing in the oblivion of the 
garret, draw it out — drive a nail here and there to hold it 
firm — stuff and pad, and stitch the padding through with 
a long upholsterer's needle, and cover it wdth the chintz 
like your other furniture. Presto — you create an easy- 
chair. 




CENTRE-TABLE-SUMMABY. 81 

Thus can broken and disgraced furniture reappear, and, 
being put into nniform with, the general snit of your 
room, take a. new lease of life. 

If you want a centre-table, consider this — that any kind 
of table, well concealed beneath the folds of handsome 
drapery^ of a color corresponding to the general hue of the room, 
will look well. Instead of going to the cabinet-maker and 
paying from thirty to forty dollars upon a little, narrow, 
cold, marble-topped stand, that gives just room enongh to 
hold a lamp and a book or two, reflect within yourself 
what a centre-table is made for. If you have in your 
house a good, broad, generous-topped table, take it, cover 
it with an ample cloth of green broadcloth. Such a cover, 
two and a half yards sqnare, of fine green broadcloth, 
figured with black and with a pattern-border of grape- 
leaves, has been bought for ten dollars. In a room we wot 
of, it covers a cheap pine table, such as you may buy for 
four or five dollars any day ; bnt yon will be astonished 
to see how handsome an object this table makes under its 
green drapery. Probably yon could make the cover more 
cheaply by getting the cloth and trimming its edge with a 
handsome border, selected for the purpose ; but either way, 
it will be an economical and nseful ornament. We set 
down our centre-table, therefore, as consisting mainly of a 
nice broadcloth cover, matching our curtains and lounge. 

We are sure that any one with " a heart that is hum- 
ble" may command such a centre-table and cloth for fif- 
teen dollars or less, and a family of five or six may all sit 
and work, or read, or write around it, and it is capable of 
entertaining a generous allowance of books and knick- 
knacks. 

Yon have now for your parlor the following figures : 

Wall-paper and border, $5 50 

Thirty yards matting, iS 00 

Oentre-table and cloth, . 15 00 

Muslin for three windows, 6 75 

Thirty yards green English chintz, at 25 cents, 7. 50 

Six chairs, at $2 each, , 12 00 

Total, $61 75 

Subtracted from eighty dollars, which we set down as 
the price of the cheap, ugly Brussels carpet, we have onr 



82 



PICTUBES—FEAMES. 



Fig. 40. 



whole room papered, carpeted, curtained, and furnished, 
and we have nearly twenty dollars remaining for pictures. 
As a little suggestion in regard to the selection, you can 
get Miss Oakley's charming little cabinet picture of 

" The Little Scrap-Book Maker" for $7 50 

Eastman Johnson's " Barefoot Boy," (Prang) 5 00 

Newman's " Blue-fringed Gentians," (Prang) 6 00 

Bierstadt's " Sunset in the Yo Semite Valley," (Prang) 1% 00 

Here are thirty dollars' worth of really admirable 
pictures of some of our best American artists, from 
which you can choose at your leisure. By sending to any 
leading picture-dealer, lists of pictures and prices will be 
forwarded to you. These chromes, being all varnished, 
can wait for frames until you can afford them. Or, what 
is better, because it is at once cheaper and a means of edu- 
cating the ingenuity and the taste, you can make for your- 
selves pretty rustic frames in various modes. Take a very 

thin board, of the right size and 
shape, for the foundation or 
" mat ;" saw out the inner oval 
or rectangular form to suit the 
picture. Kail on the edge a rustic 
frame made of branches of hard, 
seasoned wood, and garnish the 
corners with some pretty device ; 
such, 'for instance, as a cluster of 
acorns ; or, in place of the branch- 
es of trees, fasten on with glue 
small pine cones, with larger ones 
for corner ornaments. Or use the 
mosses of the wood or ocean shells for this purpose. It may 
be more convenient to get the mat or inner moulding from a 
framer, or have it made by your 
carpenter, with a groove behind to 
hold a glass. Here are also picture- 
frames of pretty effect, and very 
simply made. The one in f'ig. 42 
is made of either light or dark wood, 
neat, thin, and not very wide, with 
the ends simply broken off, or cut 
so as to resemble a rough break. 
The other is white pine, sawn into 
simple form, well smoothed, and 




Fig. 41. 




GENERAL VIEW. 



83 



Eig. 42. 



very 
little 



marked with a delicate Mack tracery, as suggested in Fig. 
43. This should also be varnished; theii it will take a 

rich, yellow tinge, 
which harmonizes 
admirably with 
chromos, and light- 
ens np engravings 
to singular advan- 
tage. Besides the 
American and the 
higher range of Grer- 
man and English 
chromos, there are 
many pretty 
French chro- 
mos, which can be 
had at prices from 
$1 to $5, includ- 
ing black walnut 
frames. 

We have been 
through this calcu- 
lation merely to 
show our readers 
how much beautiful effect may be produced by a wise dis- 
position of color and skill in arrangement. If any of our 
friends should^ ever carry it out, they will find that the 
buff paper, with its dark, nar- 
row border; the green chintz 
repeated in the lounge, the ot- 
tomans and lambrequins ; the 
flowing, white curtains;, the 
broad, generous centre-table, 
ample green 
arranged to- 
an effect of 
beyond 
or even 




Fig. 43. 



draped with its 
clothj will, when 
gether, produce 
grace 
what 



and beauty far 
any one piece 




half a dozen pieces of expensive 

cabinet furniture could. The 

great, simple principle of beauty illustrated in this room 

is harmony of color. 

You can, in the same way, make a red room by using 



84 STATUETTES— WOBKS OF ART. 



Turkey red for your draperies ; or a blue room by using 
yblue cliintz. Let your chintz be of a small pattern, and 
^^ one that is decided in color. 

We have given the plan of a room with matting on the 
floor because that is absolutely the cheapest cover. The 
price of thirty yards plain, good ingrain carpet, at $1.50 
per yard, would be forty-five dollars ; the difference be- 
tween forty-five and fifteen dollars would furnish a room 
with pictures such as we have instanced. However, the 
same programme can be even better carried out with a 
green ingrain carpet as the foundation of the color of the 
room. 

Our friends, who lived seven years upon matting, con- 
trived to give their parlor in winter an effect of warmth 
and color by laying down, in front of the fire, a large 
square of carpeting, say three breadths, four yards long. 
This covered the gathering-place around the fire where the 
winter circle generally sits, and gave an appearance of 
warmth to the room. 

If we add this piece of carpeting to the estimates for 
our room, we still leave a margin for a picture, and make 
the programme equally adapted to summer and winter. 

Besides the chromos, which,' when well selected and of the 
best class, give the charm of color which belongs to expen- 
sive paintings, there are engravings which finely reproduce 
much of the real spirit and beauty of the celebrated pic- 
tures of the world. And even this does not exhaust the 
resources of economical art ; for there are few of the 
renowned statues, whether of antiquity or of modern times, 
that have not been accurately copied in plaster casts ; and 
a few statuettes, costing perhaps five or six dollars each, 
will give a really elegant finish to your rooms — ^providing 
always that they are selected with discrimination and 
taste. 

The educating influence of these works of art can hardly 
be over-estimated. Surrounded by such suggestions of the 
beautiful, and such reminders of history and art, children 
are constantly trained to correctness of taste and refine- 
ment of thought, and stimulated^sometimes to efforts at 
artistic imitation, always to the eager and intelligent in- 
quiry about the scenes, the places, the incidents represented. 

Just here, perhaps, we are met by some who grant all 
that we say on the subject of decoration by works of art, 



NATVBAL DEC OB ATIONS— WOOD-PLANTS. 8 5 



and who jet impatiently exclaim, " Bnt I have no money 
to s]3are for any thing of this sort. I am condemned to an 
absolnte bareness, and beanty in my case is not to be 
thonght of." 

Are yoti snre, my friend ? If yon live in the conntry, or 
can get into the conntry, and have yonr eyes opened and 
yonr wits abont yon, yonr honse need not be condemned 
to an absolnte bareness. K^ot so long as the woods are 
full of beantifnl ferns and mosses, while every swamp 
shakes and nods with tremnlons grasses, need yon feel 
yonrself an ntterly disinherited child of natnre, and de- 
prived of its artistic nse. 

For example : Take an old tin pan condemned to the 
retired list by reason of holes in the bottom, get twenty-five 
cents' worth of green paint for this and other purposes, and 
paint it. The holes in the bottom are a recommendation 
for its new service. If there are no holes, yon mnst di'ill 
two or three, as drainage is essential. Now pnt a layer 
one inch deep of broken charcqal and potsherds over the 
bottom, and then soil, in the following proportions : 

Two fourths wood-soil, snch as yon find in forests, nnder 
trees. 

One fonrth clean sand. 

One fonrth meadow-soil, taken from nnder fresh tnrf. 
Mix with this some charcoal dnst. 

In this soil plant all sorts of ferns, together with some 
few swamp-grasses ; and aronnd the edge pnt a border of 
money-plant or periwinkle to hang over. This will need 
to be watered once or twice a week, and it will grow and 
thrive all summer long in a corner of yonr room. Shonld 
yon prefer, yon can snspend it by wires and make a hang- 
ing-basket. Ferns and wood-grasses need not have sun- 
shine — they grow well in shadowy places. 

On this same principle yon can convert a salt-box or an 
empty fig drum into a hanging-basket. Tack bark and 
pine-cones and moss upon the outside of it, drill holes and 
pass wires through it, and you have a woodland hanging- 
basket, which will hang and grow in any corner of your 
house. 

We have been into rooms which, by the simple disposi- 
tion of articles of this kind, have been made to have an air 
so poetical and ' attractive that they seemed more like a 
nymph's cave than any thing in the real world. 



86 



FEEN-SHIELD—IYT. 



Fig. 44. 



Another mode of disposing of ferns is this : Take a flat 
piece of board sawed out something hke a shield, with a 

hole at the top for hanging it up. , ^ ^ -^ 

Upon the board nail a 

wire pocket made of an 
ox-muzzle flattened on 
one side; or make some- 
thing of the kind with 
stiif wire. Line this with 
a sheet of close moss,which 
appears, green behind the 
wire net-work. Then you 
flu it with loose, spongy 
moss, such as you find in 
swamps, and plant therein 
great plumes of fern and 
various swamp-grasses ; 
they will continue to 
grow there, and hang 
gracefully over. When 
watering, set a pail under 
for it to drip into. It needs only to keep this moss always 
damp, and to sprinkle these ferns occasionally with a 
whisk- broom, to have a most lovely ornament for your 
room or hall. 

The use of ivy in decorating a room is beginning to be 
generally acknowledged. It needs to be planted in the 
kind of soil we have described, in a well-drained pot or 
box, and to have its leaves thoroughly washed once or 
twice a year in strong suds made with soft-soap, to free it 
from dust and scale-bug ; and an ivy will live and thrive 
and wind about in a room, year in and year out, will grow 
around pictures, and do almost any thing to oblige you that 
you can suggest to it. For instance, in a March number of 
Hearth andMome^ there is a picture of the most delightful 
library-window imaginable, whose chief charm consists in 
the running vines that start from a longitudinal box at the 
bottom of the window, and thence clamber up and about 
the casing and across the rustic frame-work erected for its 
convenience. On the opposite page we present another 




Fig. 45. 




88 VINE-DBAPED WINDOW— PBETTT DEVICES. 



plain kind of window, ornamented with, a yariety of these 
rural economical adornings. 

In the centre is a. Ward's case. On one side is a pot of 
Fuchsia. On the other side is a Calla Lily. In the hang- 
ing-baskets and on the brackets are the ferns and flowers 
that flom'ish in the deep woods, and around the window is 
the ivy, running from two boxes ; and, in case the window 
has some sun, a NastuHion may spread its bright blossoms 
among the leaves. Then, in the winter, when there is less 
sun, the Stri'ped Spider-wo7% the Smilax and the Saxifraga 
Samentosa (or Wandering Jew) may be substituted. Pretty 
brackets can be made of common pine, ornamented with 
odd-growing twigs or mosses or roots, scraped and varnished, 
or in their native state. 

A beautiful ornament for a room with pictures is Ger- 
man ivy. Slips of this will start without roots in bottles of 
water. Slide the bottle behind the picture, and the ivy will 
seem ^ to come from fairyland, and hang its verdure in all 
manner of pretty curves around the picture. It may then 
be trained to travel toward other ivy, and thus aid in 
forming a green cornice along the ceiling. We have seen 
some rooms that had an ivy cornice around the whole, giv- 
ing the air of a leafy bower. 

There are some other odd devices to ornament a room. 
For example, a sponge, kept wet by daily immersion, can be 
tilled with flax-seed and suspended by a cord, when it will ere 
long be covered with verdure and afterward with flowers. 

A sweet potato, laid in a bowl of water on a bracket, or 
still better, suspended by a knitting-needle, run through or 
laid across the bowl half in the water, will, in due time, make 
a beautiful verdant ornament. A large carrot, with the 
smallest half cut ofi", scooped out to hold water and then 
suspended with cords, will send out graceful shoots in rich 
profusion. 

Half a cocoa-nut shell, suspended, will hold earth or water 
for plants and make a pretty hanging ornament. 

It may be a very proper thing to direct the ingenuity 
and activity of children into the making of hanging-baskets 
and vases of rustic work. The best foundations are the 
cheap wooden bowls, which are quite easy to get, and the 
walks of children in the woods can be made interesting by 
their bringing home material for this rustic work. Different 
colored twigs and sprays of trees, such as the bright scarlet 



THE WARD CASE. 



89 



of the dogwood, the yellow of the willow, the black of the 
birch, and the silvery gray of the poplar, may be combined 
in fanciful network. For this sort of work, no other in- 
vestment is needed than a hammer and an assortment of 
different-sized tacks, and beautiful results will be produced. 

Fig. 46 is a stand for 
Fig. 46. flowers, made of roots, 

' scraped and varnished. 
But the greatest and 
cheapest and most de- 
lightful fountain of 
beauty is a " Ward 
case." 

ISTow, immediately all 
onr economical friends 
give up in despair. 
Ward's cases sell all 
the way along from 
eighteen to fifty dol- 
lars, and are, like every 
thing else in this lower 
world, regarded as the 
sole perquisites of the 
rich. 

Let us not be too sure. 
Plate-glass, and hot- 
house ' plants, and rare 
patterns, are the especial inheritance of the rich ; but 
any family may command all the requisites of a Ward 
case for a very small sum. Such a case is a small glass 
closet over a well-drained box of soil. You make a Ward 
case on a small scale when you turn a tnmbler over a plant. 
The glass keeps the temperature moist and equable, and 
preserves the plants from dust, and- the soil being well 
drained, they live and thrive accordingly. The requisites 
of these are the glass top and the bed of well-drained soil. 
Suppose you have a common cheap table, four feet long 
and two wide. Take off the top boards of your table, and 
with them board the bottom across tight and firm ; then 
line it with zinc, and you will have a sort of box or sink on 
legs. IS^ow make a top of common window-glass such as 
you would get for a cucumber-frame ; let it be two and a 
half feet high, with a ridge-pole like a house, and a slant- 




90 



CONSTEUCTION OF THE V/AED CASE. 



ing roof of glass resting on this ridge-pole ; on one end let 

there be a door two feet square. 

We have seen a Ward case made in this way, in which the 

capabilities for producing ol*namental effect w^ere greatly 

beyond many of 
Fig. 47. the most elabo- 

rate ones of the 
shops. It was 
large, and roomy, 
and cheap. Com- 
mon window-sash 
and glass are not 
dear, and any man 
with moderate in- 
genuity could fa- 
shion such a glass 
closet for his wife ; 
or- a woman, not 
having such a hus- 
band, can do it 
herself. 

The sink or box 
part must have in 
the middle of it a 
hole of good size 
" " In 



for drainage 

preparing for the reception of plants, first turn a plant- 
saucer over this hole, w^hich may otherwise become stopped. 
Then, as directed for the other basket, proceed with a layer 
of broken charcoal and potsherds for drainage, two inches 
deep, and prepare the soil as directed above, and add to it 
some pounded charcoal, or the scrapings of the charcoal- 
bin. In short, more or less charcoal and charcoal-dust is 
always in order in the treatment of these moist subjects, 
as it keeps them from fermenting and growing sour. • 

]^ow for filling the case. 

Our own native forest-ferns have a period in the winter 
months when they cease to grow. They are very particu- 
lar in asserting their right to this yearly nap, and will not, 
on any consideration, grow for you out of their appointed 
season. 

l^evertheless, we shall tell you what we have tried our- 
selves, because greenhouse ferns are expensive, and often 




HOW TO GATHEB WOOD-PLANTS. 91 



great cheats wheii you have bought them, and die on your 
hands in the most reckless and shameless manner. If you 
make a Ward case in the spring, your ferns will grow 
beautifully in it all summer ; and in the autumn, though they 
stop growing, and cease to throw out leaves, yet the old 
leaves will remain fresh and green till the time for starting 
the. new ones in the spring. 

But, supposing you wish to start your case in the fall, 
out of such things as you can find in the forest ; by search- 
ing carefully the rocks and clefts and recesses of the forest, 
you can find a quantity of beautiful ferns whose leaves the 
ifrost has not yet assailed. Gather them carefully, remem- 
bering that the time of the plant's sleep has come, and that 
you must make the most of the leaves it now has, as you 
will not have a leaf' more from it till its waking-up time 
in February or March. But we have succeeded, and you 
will succeed, in making a very charming and picturesque 
collection. You can make in your Ward case lovely lit- 
tle grottoes with any bits of shells, and rninerals, and rocks 
you may have ; you can lay down, here and there, frag- 
. ments of broken looking-glass for the floor of your grottoes, 
and the effect of them will be magical. A square of look- 
ing-glass introduced into the back side of your case will 
produce charming effects. 

The trailing arbutus or May-flower, if cut up carefully 
in sods, and put into this Ward case, will come into bloom 
there a month sooner than it otherwise would, and gladden 
your eyes and heart. 

In the fall, if you can find the tufts of eye-bright or 
houstonia cerulia, and mingle them in with your mosses, 
you will find them blooming before winter is well over. 

But among the most beautiful things for such a case is 
the partridge-berry, with its red plums. The berries swell 
and increase in the moist atmosphere, and become intense 
in color, forming an admirable ornament. 

Then the ground pine, the princess pine, and various 
nameless pretty things of the woods, all flourish in these 
little conservatories. In getting your sod of trailing arbu- 
tus, remember that this plant forms its buds in the fall. You 
must, therefore, examine your sod carefully, and see if the 
buds are there ; otherwise you will find no blossoms in the 
spring. 

There are one or two species of violets, also, that form 



92 THE GENERAL CARE OF HOUSE-PLANTS. 



their buds in the fall, and these too, will blossom early for 
you. 

We have never tried the wild anemones, the crowfoot, etc. ; 
but as they all do well in moist, shady places, we recom- 
mend hopefully the experiment of putting some of them 
in. 

A "Ward case has this recommendation over common 
house-plants, that it takes so little time and care, and also 
will flourish in rooms without sunshine. If well made 
in the outset, and thoroughly drenched with water 
when the plants are first put in, it will after that need 
only to be watered about once a month, and to be ventilated 
by occasionally leaving open the door for a half-hour or 
hour when the moisture obscures the glass and seems in 
excess. 

To women embarrassed with the care of little children, 
yet longing for the refreshment of something growing and 
beautiful, this indoor garden will be an untold treasure. 
The glass defends the plant from the inexpedient intermed- 
dling of little fingers ; while the little eyes, just on a level 
with the panes of glass, can look through and learn to enjoy 
the beautiful, silent miracles of nature. 

For an invalid's chamber, such a case would be an inde- 
scribable comfort. It is, in fact, a fragment of the green 
woods brought in and silently growing; it will refresh 
many a weary hour to watch it. 

In the cultivation of pot-plants in a parlor, several cau- 
tions are needful. In the first place, plants need fresh air 
as much as animals, and should have a breath of it every 
day when it will not freeze them. 

Then, plants demand cleanliness, and ask to have their 
leaves washed with a sponge, or showered, according to cir- 
cumstances. Again, the soil around their roots must be 
kept soft and light, that the oxygen of the air and influ- 
ence of light may penetrate. 

If blossoms are wanted, a small pot is better than a large 
one. The strength and further blossoming of a plant is 
increased by plucking the flowers as soon as they begin to 
wither ; as much of the strength of a plant goes to perfect 
its seed. 

Too much water and want of fresh air make plants 
grow long and spindling. 

As light and sunshine are indispensable to the success of 



FEW PLANTS ENOUGH, IF WELL TENDED. 93 



house plants, set them on an oil-cloth that matches the 
carpet and let the sun in freely, without fear of fading car- 
pets. It is well to change the soil of a plant once a year, 
although in most cases watering with liquid manure will 
answer. 

Pick off the withered leaves from plants, and give daily 
care and tending in every way. It is never well to increase 
the number of plants so as to necessitate more care than " 
can be given. A few plants, well cared for, are far more 
beautiful than a large number of neglected ones. 

Many housekeepers destroy health and comfort by dark- 
ening rooms to keep out flies and save furniture from fad- 
ing. Sunlight is as important to human beings as it is to 
plants ; and many a housekeeper and her children carry a 
pallid skin for want of it. Wire or coarse lace-netting, in 
frames made for the purpose, fitted to the windows and 
doors, will keep out flies ; and it is far better to have sun- 
light with faded carpets than darkness with a sickly skin 
and feeble health. 

The use of oil-cloth, similar in color to a carpet, placed 
where the sun shines on flowers, (and ought to shine on 
healthful women,) is a good contrivance to save carpets. 

Those ladies who always keep a light and sunny parlor 
are always complimented as having the pleasantest homes. 



YII. 

THE CAEE OF HEALTH. 

There is no point where a woman is more liable to 
suffer from a want of knowledge and experience than in 
reference to the health of a family committed to her care. 
Many a yonng lady who never had any charge of the sick ; 
who never took any care of an infant ; who never obtained 
information on these subjects from books, or from the ex- 
perience of others ; in short, with little or no preparation, 
has found heisself the principal attendant in dangerous sick- 
ness, the chief nurse of a feeble infant, and the responsible 
guardian of the health of a whole family. 

The care, the fear, the perplexity of a woman suddenly 
called to these unwonted duties, none can realize till they 
themselves feel it, or till they see some young and anxious 
novice first attempting to meet such responsibilities. To 
a woman of age and experience these duties often involve 
a measure of trial and difficulty at times deemed almost in- 
supportable ; how hard, then, must they press on the heart 
of the young and inexperienced ! 

There is no really efficacious mode of preparing a 
woman to take a rational care of the health of a family, 
except by communicating that knowledge in regard to the 
construction of the body and the laws of health which is 
the basis of the medical profession. ]^ot that a woman 
should undertake the minute and extensive investigation 
requisite for a physician ; but she should gain a general 
knowledge of first principles, as a guide to her judgment 
in emergencies when she can rely on no other aid. 

With this end in view, in the preceding chapters some 
portions of the organs and functions of the human body 
have been presented, and others will now follow in connec- 
tion with the practical duties which result from them. 

On the general subject of health, one recent discovery 
of science may here be introduced as having an important 



CELL-LIFE. 95 



relation to every organ and function of the body, and as 
being one to which frequent reference will be made ; and 
that is, the nature and operation of cell-life. 

By the aid of the microscope, we can examine the minute 
construction of plants and animals, in which we discover 
contrivances and operations, if not so sublime, yet more 
wonderful and interesting, than the vast systems of worlds 
revealed by the telescope. 

By this instrument it is now seen that the first forma- 
tion, as well as future changes and actions, of all plants and 
animals are accomplished by means of small cells or bags 
containing various kinds of liquids. These cells are so 
minute that, of the smallest, some hundreds would not 
cover the dot of a printed i on this page. They are of di- 
verse shapes and contents, and perform various different 
operations. 

The first formation of every animal is accomplished by 

the agency of cells, and may be il- 
lustrated by the Qgg of any bird or 
fowl. The exterior consists of a 
hard shell for protection, and this 
is lined with a tough skin, to which 
is fastened the yelk, (which means 
the yellow^ by fibrous strings, as 
"seen at a., <2, in the diagram. In. 
the yelk floats the germ-cell, &, which is the point where the 
formation of the future animal commences. The yelk, 
being lighter than the white, rises upward, and the germ 
being still lighter, rises in the yelk. This is to bring both 
nearer to the vitalizing warmth of the brooding mother. 

]^ew cells are gradually formed from the nourishing 
yelk around the germ, each being at first roundish in 
shape, and having a spot near the centre, called the 
nucleus. The reason why cells increase must remain a 
mystery, until we can penetrate the secrets of vital force 
— ^probably forever. But the mode in which they mul- 
tiply is as follows : The first change noticed in a cell, 
when warmed into vital activity, is the appearance of a 
second nucleus within it, while the cell gradually becomes 
oval in form, and then is drawn inward at the middle, like 
an hour-glass, till the two sides meet. The two portions 
then divide, and two cells appear, each containing its own 
germinal nucleus. These both divide again in the same 




96 



CELL-ACTION. 



manner, proceeding in tlie ratio of 2, 4, 8, 16, and so on, 
until most of the yelk becomes a mass of cells. 

The central point of this mass, where the animal itself 
commences to appear, shows, first, a round-shaped figure, 
which soon assumes form like a pear, and then like a 
violin. Gradually the busy little cells arrange themselves 
to build up heart, lungs, brain, stomach, and limbs, for 
which the yelk and white furnish nutriment. There is a 
small bag of air fastened to one end inside of the shell ; 
and when the animal is complete, this air is taken into its 
lungs, life begins, and out walks little chick, all its powers 
prepared, and ready to run, eat, and enjoy existence. Then, 
as soon as the animal uses its brain to think and feel, and 
its muscles to move, the cells which have been made up 
into these parts begin to decay^ while new cells are formed 
from the blood to take their place. Thus with life coril- 
mences the constant process of decay and renewal all over 
the body. 

The liquid portion of the blood consists of material 
formed from food, air, and water. From this material the 
cells of the blood are formed : first, the white cells, which 
are incomplete in formation ; and then the red cells, w^hich 
are completed by the addition of the oxygen received from 
air in the lungs. Fig. 49 represents part of a magnified 
blood-vessel, a^ a^ in which the round cells are the white, 

and the oblong the red cells, 
floating in the blood. Sur- 
rounding "the blood-vessels 
are the cells forming the ad- 
jacent membrane, o 1>, each 
having a nucleus in its centre. 
Cells have difi'erent powers 
of selecting and secreting 
diverse materials from the 
blood. Thus, some secrete 
bile to .carry to the liver, 
others secrete saliva for the 
mouth, others take up the 
tears, and still others take 
material for the brain, mus- 
cles, and all other organs. 
Cells also have a converting 
power, of taking one kind 



Fig. 49. 




THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 



97 



of matter from the blood, and changing it to another Kind. 
They are minute chemical laboratories all over the body, 
changing materials of one kind to another form in which 
they can be made useful. 

Both animal and vegetable substances are formed of 
cells. But the vegetable cells take up and use unorgan- 
ized or . simple, natural matter ; whereas the animal cell 
only takes substances already organized into vegetable or 
animal life, and then changes one compound into another 
of different proportions and nature. 

These curious facts in regard to cell-life have important 
relations to the general subject of health and disease. 

THE NEEVOUS SYSTEM. 

There is another portion of the body, which is so inti- 
mately connected with every other that it is placed in this 

chapter as also having refer- 
ence to every department in 
the general subject of the 
care of health. 

The body has no power to 
move itself, but is a collection 
of instruments to be used by 
the mind in securing various 
kinds of knowledge and en- 
jo}Tiient. The organs through 
which the mind thus operates 
are the hrain and ne7'ves. The 
drawing (Fig. 50) represents 
them. 

The brain lies in the skull, 
and is divided into the large 
or upper brain, marked 1, 
and the small or lower brain, 
marked 2. From the brain 
runs the spinal marrow 
through the spine or back- 
bone. From each side of the 
spine the large nerves run 
out into innumerable smaller 
branches to every portion of 

]sroTB.— The above admirable cut is taken, by permission, from Prof. J 
C. Dalton's Physiology, (Harper & Brothers.) 




'98 TEE NEBVES. 



the body. The drawing shows only some of the larger 
branches. Those marked 3 run to the neck and organs of 
the chest ; those marked 4 go to the arms ; those below the 
arms, marked 3, go to the trunk ; and those marked 5 go to 
the legs. 

The brain and nerves consist of two kinds of nervous 
matter — the gray, which is supposed to be the portion 
that originates and controls a nervous fluid which imparts 
power of action ; and the white, which seems to conduct 
this fluid to every part of the body. 

The brain and nervous system are divided into distinct 
portions, each having diflerent ofiices to perform, and each 
acting independently of .the others; as, for example, one 
portion is employed by the mind in thinking, and in feeling 
pleasurable or painful mental emotions ; another in moving 
the muscles ; while the nerves that run to the nose, ears, 
eyes, tongue, hands, and surface generally, are employed in 
seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and feeling all physical 
sensations. 

The hach portion of the spinal marrow and the nerves 
that run from it are employed in sensation, or the sense of 
feeling. These nerves extend over the whole body, but are 
largely developed in the network of nerves in the skin. 
The front portion of the spinal marrow and its branches 
are employed in moving those muscles in all parts of the 
body which are controlled by the will or choice of the mind. 
These are c^led the nerves of motion. 

The nerves of sensation and nerves of motion, although 
they start from diflerent portions of the spine, are united 
in the same sheath or cover, till they terminate in the 
muscles. Thus, every muscle is moved by nerves of motion ; 
while alongside of this nerve, in the same sheath, is a nerve 
of sensation. All the nerves of motion and sensation are 
connected with those portions of the brain used when we 
think, feel, and choose. By this arrangement the mind 
knows what is wanted in all parts of the body by means of 
the nerves of sensation, and then it acts by means of the 
nerves of motion. 

For example, when we feel the cold air on the skin, the 
nerves of sensation report to the brain, and thus to the 
mind, that the body is growing cold. The mind thus 
knows that more clothing is needed, and wills to have 
the eyes look for it, and the hands and feet move to 



OFFICES OF THE NEBYES. 99 



get it. This is done bj the nerves of sight and of 
motion. 

]^ext are the nerves of involuntary motion^ which move 
all those parts of the head, face, and body that are nsed in 
breathing, and in other operations connected with it. ' By 
these we continue to breathe when asleep, and whether we 
will to do so or not. There are also some of the nerves of 
voluntary motion that are mixed with tliese, which enable 
the mind to stop respiration, or to regulate it to a certain 
extent. But the mind has no power to stop it for any 
great length of time. 

There is another large and important system of nerves 
called the symjxcthetic or ganglionic system. It consists of 
small masses of gray and white nervous m?atter, that seem 
to be small brains with nerves running from them. These 
are called ganglia^ and are arranged on each side of the 
spine, while small nerves from the spinal marrow run into 
them, thus uniting the sympathetic system with the nerves 
of the spine. These ganglia are also distributed around in 
various parts of the interior of the body, especially in the 
intestines, and all the different ganglia are connected with 
each other by nerves, thus making one system. It is the 
ganglionic system that carries on the circulation of the 
blood, the action of the capillaries, lymphatics, arteries, and 
veins, together with the work of secretion, absorption, and 
most of the internal working of the body, which goes for- 
ward without any knowledge or control of the mind. 

Every portion of the body has nerves of sensation com- 
ing from the spine, and also branches of the sympathetic 
or ganglionic system. The object of this is to form a sym- 
pathetic communication between the several parts of the 
body, and also to enable the mind to receive, through the 
brain, some general knowledge of the state of the whole 
system. It is owing to this that, when one portion of the 
body is affected, other portions sympathize. For example, 
if one part of the body is diseased, the stomach may so sym- 
pathize as to lose all appetite until the disease is removed. 

All the operations of the nervous system are performed 
by the influence of the nervous fluid, which is generated 
in the gray portions of the brain and ganglia. Whenever 
a nerve is cut off from its connection with these nervous 
centres, its power is gone, and the part to which it minis- 
tered becomes lifeless and incapable of motion. 



100 OVERWORK OF BRAIN. 



The brain and nerves can be overworked, and can also 
suffer for want of exercise, just as the mnscles do. It is 
necessary for tlie perfect health of the brain and nerves 
that the several portions be exercised sufficiently, and that 
no part be exhausted by over-action. For example, the 
nerves of sensation may be very much exercised, and the 
nerves of motion have but little exercise. In this case, one 
will be weakened by excess of work, and the other by 
the want of it. 

It is found by experience that the proper exercise of the 
nerves of motion tends to reduce any extreme suscepti- 
bility of the nerves of sensation. On the contrary, the 
neglect of such exercise tends to produce an excessive 
sensibility in the nerves of sensation. 

"Whenever that part of the brain which is employed in 
thinking, feeling, and willing, is greatly exercised by hard 
study, or by excessive care or emotion, the blood tends to 
the brain to supply it with increased nourishment, just as 
it flows to the muscles when they are exercised. Over-ex- 
ercise of this portion of the brain causes engorgement of 
the blood-vessels. This is sometimes indicated by pain, or 
by a sense of fullness in the head ; but oftener the result 
is a debilitating drain on the nervous system, which de- 
pends for its supply on the healthful state of the brain. 

The brain has, as it were, a fountain of supply for the 
nervous fluid, which flows to all the nerves, and stimulates 
them to action. Some brains have a larger, and some a 
smaller fountain ; so that a degree of mental activity that 
would entirely exhaust one, would make only a small and 
healthful drain upon another. 

The excessive use of certain portions of the brain tends 
to withdraw the nervous energy from other portions ; so 
that when one part is debilitated by excess, another fails by 
neglect. For example, a person may so exhaust the brain 
power in the excessive use of the nerves of motion by 
hard work, as to leave little for any other faculty. On the 
other hand, the nerves of feeling and thinking may be so 
used ,as to withdraw the nervous fluid from the nerves of 
motion, and thus debilitate the muscles. 

Some animal propensities may be indulged to such ex- 
cess as to produce a constant tendency of the blood to a 
certain portion of the brain, and to the organs connected 
with it, and thus cause a constant and excessive excite- 



NERVOUS EXHAUSTION. 101 



ment, which finally becomes a disease. Sometimes a para- 
lysis of this portion of the brain results from such an 
entire exliaustion of the nervous fountain and of the over- 
worked nerves. 

Thus, also, the thinking portion of the brain may be so 
overworked as to drain the nervous fluid from other por- 
tions, which become debilitated by the loss. And in this 
way, also, the overworked portion may be diseased or 
paralyzed by the excess. 

The necessity for the equal development of all portions of 
the brain by an appropriate exercise of all the faculties of 
mind and body, anH the influence of this upon happiness, 
is the most important portion of tliis subject, and will be 
more directly exhibited in anotlier chapter. 



YIII. 

DOMESTIC EXEECISE. 

In a work which aims to influence women to train the 
young to honor domestic labor and to seek healthful exer- 
cise in home pursuits, there is special reason for explaining 
the construction of the muscles and their connection with 
the nerves, these being the chief organs of motion. 

The muscles, as seen by the naked eye, consist of very 
fine fibres or strings, bound up in smooth, silky casings of 
thin membrane. But each of these visible fibres or strings 
the microscope shows to be made up of still finer strings, 
numbering from five to eight hundred in each fibre. And 
each of these microscopic fibres is a series or chain of 
elastic cells, which are so minute that one hundred thou- 
sand would scarcely cover a capital O on this page. 

The peculiar property of the cells which compose the 
muscles is their elasticity, no other cells of the body having 

this property. At Fig. 51 is a 
diagram representing a micro- 

Q \^^ -^ V V \ ' ^^^P^^ muscular fibre, in which 
X A X X A y the cells are relaxed, as in the 
natural state of rest. But when 
the muscle contracts, each of its numberless cells in all its 
small fibres becomes widened, making Fig. 52. 

each fibre of the muscle shorter and * 

thicker, as at Fig. 52. This explains " 
the cause of the swelling out of muscles 
when they act. 

Every motion in every part of the body has a special 
muscle to produce it, and many have other muscles to re- 
store the part moved to its natural state. The muscles that 
move or bend any part are csilled flexors, and those that re- 
store the natural position are called extensors. 



Fig. 51. 
a 



MUSCULAR ACTION. 



103 



Fig. 53. 



Fig. 53 represents the muscles of the arm after the skin 
and fiesh are removed. They are all in smooth silky 
cases, laid over each other, and separated both by the 
smooth membranes that encase them and by layers of 
fat, so as to move easily without interfer- 
ing with each other. They are fastened 
to the bones by strong tendons and carti- 
lages ; and around the wrist, in the draw- 
ing, is shown" a band of cartilage to con- 
fine them in place. The muscle marked 
8 is the extensor that straightens the fin- 
gers after they have been closed by a 
flexor the other side of the arm. In like 
manner, each motion of the arm and fin- 
gers has one muscle to produce it and 
another to restore to the natural position. 
The muscles are dependent on the 
brain and nerves for power to move. It 
has been shown that the gray matter of 
the brain and spinal marrow furnishes 
the stimulating power that moves the 
muscles, and causes sensations of touch 
on the skin, and the other sensations of 
the several senses. The white part of the 
brain and spinal marrow consists solely of 
conducting tubes to transmit this influ- 
ence. Each, of the minute fibrils of the 
muscles has a small conducting nerve con- 
necting it with tlie brain or spinal mar- 
row, and in this respect each muscular 
fibril is separate from every other. 

When, therefore, the mind wills to move 
a flexor muscle of the arm, the gray mat- 
ter sends out the stimulus through the nerves to the cells 
of each individueJ fibre of that muscle, and they contract. 
When this is done, the nerve of sensation reports it to the 
brain and mind. If the mind desires to return the arm to 
its former position, then follows the willing, and conse- 
quent stimulus sent through the nerves to the correspond- 
ing muscle ; its cells contract, and the limb is restored. 

When the motion is a compound one, involving the 
action of several muscles at the same time, a multitude of 
impressions are sent back and forth to and from the brain 





104 CIRCULATION OF THE BLOOD QUICKENED BT EXEBCISE. 



through the nerves. But the person acting thus is uncon- 
scious of all this delicate and wonderful mechanism. He 
wills the movement, and instantly the requisite nervous 
power is sent to the required cells and fibres, and they 
perform the motions required. Many of the muscles are 
moved by the sympathetic system, over which the mind 
has but little control. 

Among the muscles and nerves so intimately connected, 
run the minute capillaries of the blood, which furnish 
nourishment to all. 

Fig, 54 represents an artery at <z, which brings pure 
blood to a muscle from the heart. After 
meandering through the capillaries at c, 
to distribute oxygen and food from the 
stomach, the blood enters the vein, 5, 
loaded with carbonic acid and water 
taken up in the capillaries, to be carried 
to the lungs or skin, and thrown out into 
the air. 

The manner in which the exercise 
of the muscles quickens the circula- 
tion of the blood will now be explained. 
The veins abound in every part of every 
muscle, and the large veins have val'ves which prevent the 
blood from flowing backward. If the wrist is grasped 
tightly, the veins of the hand are immediately swollen. 
This is owing to the fact that the blood is prevented from 
flowing toward the heart by this pressure, and by the vein- 
valves from returning into the arteries ; while the arteries 
themselves, being placed deeper down, are not so compressed, 
and continue to send the blood into the hand, and thus it ac- 
cumulates. As soon as this pressure is' removed, the blood 
springs onward from the restraint with accelerated motion. 
This same process takes place when any of the muscles 
are exercised. The contraction of any muscle presses some 
of the veins, so that the blood can not flow the natural way, 
while the valves in the veins prevent its flowing backward. 
Meantime the arteries continue to press the blood along 
until the veins become swollen. Then, as soon as the 
muscle ceases its contraction, the blood flows faster from 
the previous accumulation. 

If, then, we use a number of muscles, and use them 
strongly and quickly, there are so many veins afiected in 




EXEECISE NECESSARY TO HEALTH. 105 



this way as to quicken the whole circulation. The heart 
receives blood faster, and sends it to the lungs faster. 
. Then the lungs work quicker, to furnish the oxygen re- 
quired by the greater amount of blood. The blood re- 
turns with greater speed to the heart, and the heart sends 
it out with quicker action through the arteries to the capil- 
laries. In the capillaries, too, the decayed matter is car- 
ried off faster, and then the stomach calls for more food 
to furnish new and pure blood. Thus it is that exercise 
gives new life and nourishment to every part of the body. 

It is the universal law of the human frame that exercise 
is indispensable to the health of the several parts. Thus, 
if a blood-vessel be tied up, so as not to be used, it shrinks, 
and becomes a useless string ; if a muscle be condemned 
to inaction, it shrinks in size and diminishes in power ; and 
thus it is also with the bones. Inactivity produces soft- 
ness, debility, and unfitness for the functions they are de- 
signed to perform. 

ISTow, the nerves, like all other parts of the body, gain 
and lose strength according as they are exercised. If they 
have too much or too little exercise, they lose strength ; 
if they are exercised to a proper degree, they gain strength. 
When the mind is continuously excited, by business, study, 
or the imagination, the nerves of emotion and sensation are 
kept in constant action, while the nerves of motion are un- 
employed. If this is continued for a long time, the nerves 
of sensation lose their strength from over-action, and the 
nerves of motion lose their power from inactivity. In 
consequence, there is a morbid excitability of the nervous, 
and a debility of the muscular system, which make all 
exertion irksome and wearisome. 

The only mode of preserving the health of these systems 
is to keep up in them an equilibrium of action. For this 
purpose, occupations must be sought which exercise the 
muscles and interest the mind ; and thus the equal action 
of both kinds of nerves is secured. This shows why exercise 
is so much more healthful and invigorating when the mind 
is interested, than when it is not. As an illustration, let a 
person go shopping with a friend, and have nothing to do 
but look on. How soon do the continuous walking and stand- 
ing weary ! But, suppose one, thus wearied, hears of the 
arrival of a very dear friend : she can instantly walk off a 
mile or two to meet her, without the least feeling of fatigue. 



106 INTEBESTING EXERCISE. 



By this is shown the importance of furnishing, for yonng 
persons, exercise in which they will take an interest. Long 
and formal walks, merely for exercise, though they do some 
good, in securing fresh air, and some exercise of the mus- 
cles, would be of triple benefit if changed to amusing 
sports, or to the cultivation of fruits and flowers, in which 
it is impossible to engage without acquiring a great inte- 
rest. 

It shows, also, why it is far better to trust to useful do- 
mestic exercise at home than to send a young person out to 
walk for the mere purpose of exercise. Young girls can 
seldom be made to realize the value of health, and the 
need of exercise to secure it, so as to feel much interest in 
walking abroad, when they have no other object. But, if 
they are brought up to minister to the comfort and enjoy- 
ment of themselves and others, by performing domestic 
duties, they will constantly be interested and cheered in 
their exercise by the feeling of usefulness and the con- 
sciousness of having performed their duty. 

There are few young persons, it is hoped, who are brought 
up with such miserable habits of selfishness and indolence 
that they can not be made to feel happier by the conscious- 
ness of being usefully employed. And those who have 
never been accustomed to think or care for any one but 
themselves, and who seem to feel little pleasure in making 
themselves useful, by wise and proper influences can often 
be gradually awakened to the new pleasure of benevolent 
exertion to promote the comfort and enjoyment of others. 
And the more this sacred and elevating kind of enjoyment 
is tasted, the gre-ater is the relish induced. Other enjoy- 
ments often cloy; but the heavenly pleasure secured by 
virtuous industry and benevolence, while it satisfies at the 
time, awakens fresh desires for the continuance of so enno- 
bling a good. 



IX. 

HEALTHFUL FOOD. 

• The person who decides what shall be the food and 
drink of a family, and the modes of its preparation, is the 
one who decides, to a greater or less extent, what shall be 
the health of that family. It is the opinion of most me- 
dical men, that intemperance in eating is one of the most 
fruitfal of all causes of disease and death. It this be so, the 
woman who wisely adapts the food and cooking of her fa- 
mily to the laws of health removes one of the greatest 
risks which threatens the lives of those nnder her care. 
But, unfortunately, there is no other duty that has been 
involved in more doubt and perplexity. Were one to 
believe all that is said and written on this subject, the con- 
clusion probably would be, that there is not one solitary 
article of food on God's earth which it is healthful to eat. 
Happily, however, there are general principles on this 
subject which, if understood and applied, will prove a safe 
guide to any woman of common sense ; and it is the object 
of the following chapter to set forth these principles. 

All material things on earth, whether solid, liquid, or 
gaseous, can be resolved into sixty-two simple substances, 
only fourteen of which are in the human body ; and these, 
in certain proportions, in all mankind. 

Thus, in a man weighing 154 lbs. are found, 111 lbs. 
oxygen gas, and 14 lbs. hydrogen gas, which, united, form 
water ; 21 lbs. carbon ; 3 lbs. 8 oz. nitrogen gas ; 1 lb. 12 
oz. 190 grs. phosphorus ; 2 lbs. calcium, the chief ingre- 
dient of bones ; 2 oz. fluorine ; 2 oz. 219 grs. sulphur ; 2 oz. 
4Y grs. chlorine; 2 oz. 116 grs. sodium; 100 grs. iron; 290 
grs. potassium ; 12 grs. magnesium ; and 2 grs. silicon. 

These simple substances are constantly passing out of 
the body through the lungs, skin, and other excreting 
organs. 

It is found that certain of these simple elements are used 



108. LIFE, A CONSTANT DECAY AND A CONSTANT GROWTH. 



for one part of the body, and others for other parts, and 
this in certain regular proportions. • Thns, carbon is the 
chief element of fat, and also supplies the fuel that com- 
bines with oxygen in the capillaries to produce animal 
heat. The nitrogen which we gain from our food and the 
air is the chief element of muscle ; phosphorus is the chief 
element of brain and nerves ; and calcium or lime is the 
hard portion of the bones. Iron is an important element 
of blood, and silicon supplies the hardest parts of the teeth, 
nails, and hair. 

Water, which is composed of the two gases, oxygen and 
hydrogen, is the largest portion of the body, forming its 
fluids ; there is four times as much of carbon as there is of 
nitrogen in the body ; while there is only two per cent as 
much phosphorus as carbon. A man weighing one hundred 
and fifty-four pounds, who leads an active life, takes into 
his stomach daily from two to three pounds of solid food, 
and from five to six pounds of liquid. At the same time he 
takes into his lungs, daily, four or five thousand gallons of 
air. This amounts to three thousand pounds of nutriment 
received through stomach and lungs, and then expelled from 
the body, in one year ; or about twenty times the man's own 
weight. 

The change goes on in every minute point of the body, 
though in some parts much faster than in others ; as set 
forth in the piquant and sprightly language of Dr. O. W. 
Holmes,* who, giving a vivid picture of the constant decay 
and renewal of the body, says : 

" Every organized heing always lives immersed in a 
strong solution of its own elements.'''' 

" Sometimes, as in the case of the air-plant, the solution 
contains all its elements ; but in higher plants, and in ani- 
mals generally, some of the principal ones only. Take our 
own bodies, and we find the atmosphere contains the oxygen 
and the nitrogen, of which we are so largely made up, as its 
chief constituents ; the hydrogen, also, in its watery vapor ; 
the carbon, in its carbonic acid. What our air-bath does not 
furnish us, we must take in the form of nourishment, sup- 
plied through the digestive organs. But the first food we 
take, after we have set up for ourselves, is air, and the last 
food we take is air also. We are all chameleons in our diet, 

* Atlantic Almanac, 1869, p. 40. 



LIFE IN DBA TE. 109 



as we are all salamanders in our habitats^ inasmncli as we live 
always in tlie fire of our own smouldering combustion ; a 
gentle but constant flame, fanned every day by tlie same 
forty hogsheads of air which furnish us not with our daily 
bread, which we can live more than a day without touching, 
but with our momentary, andoftener than momentary, ali- 
ment, without which we can not live five minutes." 

'' We are perishing and being born again at every instant. 
"We do literally enter over and over again into the womb of 
that great mother, from whom we get our bones, and flesh, 
and blood, and marrow. ' I die daily ' is true of all that 
live. If we cease to die, particle by particle, and to be born 
anew in the same proportion, the whole movement of life 
comes to an end, and swift, universal, irreparable decay re- . 
solves our frames into the parent elements." 

" The products of the internal fire which consumes us over 
and over again every year, pass off mainly in smoke and 
steam from the lungs and. the skin. . The smoke is only in- 
visible, because the combustion is so perfect. The steam is 
plain enough in our breaths on a frosty morning ; and an 
over-driven horse will show us, on a larger scale, the cloud 
that is always arising from own bodies." 

" Man walks, then, not only in a vain show, but wi'apped 
in an uncelestial aureole of his own material exhalations. 
A great) mist of gases and of vapor rises day and night from 
the whole realm of living nature. The water and the car- 
bonic acid which animals exhale become the food of plants, 
whose leaves are at once lungs and mouths. The vegetable 
world reverses the breathing process of the animal creation, 
restoring the elements which that has combined and rendered 
effete for its own purposes, to their original condition. The 
salt-water ocean is a great aquarium. The air ocean in 
which we live is a ' Wardian case,' of larger dimen- 



sions." 



It is found that the simple elements will not nourish 
the body in their natural state, but only when organized, 
either as vegetable or animal food ; and, to the dismay ol 
the Grahamite or vegetarian school, it is now established 
by chemists that animal and vegetable food contain the 
same elements, and in nearly the same proportions. 

Thus, in animal food, carbon predominates in fats, while 
in vegetable food it shows itself in sugar, starch, and vege- 
table oils. I^itrogen is found in animal food in the albu- 



110 NUTRITIVE ELEMENTS OF WKEAT. 




men, fibrin, and caseine ; while in vegetables it is in 
gluten, albumen, and caseine. 

It is also a curious fact that, in all articles of food, the 
elements that nourish diverse parts of the body are divided 
into separable portions, and also that the pro- 
Fig. 55. portions correspond in a great degree to the 
wants of the body. For example, a kernel of 
wheat contains all the articles demanded for 
every part of the body. Fig. 55 represents, 
upon an enlarged scale, the position and pro- 
portions of the chief elements required. The 
white central part is the largest in quantity, 
and is chiefly carbon in the form of starch, 
which supplies fat and fuel for the capillaries. The 
shaded outer portion is chiefly nitrogen, which nourishes 
the muscles, and the dark spot at the bottom is prin- 
cipally phosphorus, which nourishes the brain and 
nerves. And these elements are in due proportion to the 
demands of the body. A portion of the outer covering of 
a wheat-kernel holds lime, silica, and iron, which are 
needed by the body, and which are found in no other part 
of the grain. The woody fibre is not digested, but serves 
by its bulk and stimulating action to facilitate digestion. 
It is therefore evident that bread made of unbolted flour 
is more healthful than that made of superfine flour. The 
process of bolting removes all the woody fibre ; the lime 
needed for the bones ; the silica for hair, nails, and teeth ; 
the iron for the blood ; and most of the nitrogen and. 
phosphorus needed for muscles, brain, and nerves. 

Experiments on animals prove that fine flour alone, 
which is chiefly carbon, will not sustain life more than a 
month, while unbolted flour furnishes all that is needed 
for every part of the body. There are cases where persons 
can not use such coarse bread, on account of its irritating 
action on inflamed coats of the stomach. For such, a 
kind of wheaten grit is provided, containing all the kernel 
of the wheat, except the outside woody fibre. 

When the body requires a given kind of diet, specially de- 
manded by brain, lungs, or muscles, the appetite will crave 
food for it until the necessary amount of this article is secured. 
If, then, the food in which the needed aliment abounds 
is not supplied, other food will be taken in larger quanti- 
ties than needed until that amount is gained. For all kinds 



PROPER APPORTIONMENT OF DIET. Ill 



of food have supplies for every want of the body, though 
xn different proportions. Thus, for example, if the muscles 
are worked a great deal, food in which nitrogen abounds is 
required, and the appetite will continue until the requisite 
amount of nitrogen is secured. If, then, food is taken 
which has not the requisite quantity, the .consequence 
is, that more is taken than the system can use, while the 
vital powers are needlessly taxed to throw off the excess. 

These facts were ascertained by Liebig, a celebrated Ger- 
man chemist and physicist, who, assisted by his govern- 
ment, conducted experiments on a large scale in prisons, in 
armies, and in hospitals. Among other results, he states 
that those who use potatoes for their principal food eat them 
in very much larger quantities than their bodies would de- 
mand if they used also other food. The reason is, that the 
potato has a very large proportion of starch that supplies 
only fuel for the capillaries and very little nitrogen to feed 
the muscles. For this reason lean meat is needed with 
potatoes. 

In comparing wlieat and potatoes we find that in one 
hundred parts, wbeat there are fourteen parts nitrogen for 
muscle, and two parts phosphorus for brain and nerves. 
But in the potato there is only one part in one hundred 
for muscle, and nine tenths of one part of phosphorus for 
brain and nerves. 

The articles containing most of the three articles needed 
generally in the body are as follows : for fat and heat-mak- 
ing — butter, lard, sugar, and molasses ; for muscle-making 
— -lean meat, cheese, peas, beans, and lean fishes ; for brain 
and nerves — shell-fish, lean meats, peas, beans, and very 
active birds and fishes who live chiefiy on food in which 
phosphorus abounds. In a meat diet, the fat supplies car- 
bon for the capillaries and the lean furnishes nutriment for 
muscle, brain, and nerves. Green vegetables, fruits, and 
berries furnish the acid and water needed. 

In grains used for food, the proportions of useful ele- 
ments are varied ; there is in some more of carbon and in 
others more of nitrogen and phosphorus. For example, 
in oats there is more of nitrogen for the muscles, and less 
carbon for the lungs, than cai^ be found in wheat. In 
the corn of the North, where cold weather demands fuel 
for lungs and capillaries, there is much more carbon to 
supply it than is found in the Southern corn. 



112 NECESSARY ELEMENTS OF HUMAN LIFE. 



From these statements it may be seen that one of the 
chief mistakes in providing food for families has been in 
changing the proportions of the elements nature has^ fitted 
for onr food. Thus, fine wheat is deprived by bolting of 
some of the most important of its nourishing elements, 
leaving carbon chiefly, which, after supplying fuel for the 
capillaries, must, if in excess, be sent out of the body ; thus 
needlessly taxing all the excreting organs. So milk, which 
contains all the elements needed by the body, has the cream 
taken out and used for butter, which again is chiefly carbon. 
Then, sugar and molasses, cakes and candies, are chiefly 
carbon, and supply but very little of other nourishing ele- 
ments, while to make them safe much exercise in cold and 
pure air is necessary. And yet it is the children of the 
rich, housed in chambers and school-rooms most . of their 
time, who are fed with these dangerous dainties, thus 
weakening their constitutions, and inducing fevers, colds, 
and many other diseases. 

The proper digestion of food depends on the wants of 
the body, and on its power of appropriating the aliment 
supplied. The best of food can not be properly digested 
when it is not needed. All that the system requires will 
be used, and the rest will be thrown out by the several ex- 
creting organs, which thus are frequently over-taxed, and 
vital forces are wasted. Even food of poor quality may 
digest well if the demands of the system are urgent. The 
way to increase digestive powxr is to increase the demand 
for food by pure air and exercise of the muscles, quickening 
the blood, and arousing the whole system to a more rapid 
and vigorous rate of life. 

Eules for persons in full health, who enjoy pure air and 
exercise, are not suitable for those whose digestive powers 
.are feeble, or who are diseased.' On the other hand, many 
rules for invalids are not needed by the healthful, while 
rules for one class of invalids will not avail for other classes. 
Every weak stomach has its peculiar wants, and can not 
furnish guidance for others. 

We are now ready to consider intelligently the following 
general principles in regard to the proper selection of 
food : 

Yegetable and animal food are equally healthful if 
apportioned to the given circumstances. 

In cold weather, carbonaceous food, such as butter, 



HUNGER THE FEOFEB GUIDE FOB AFFETITE. . 113 



fats, sugar, molasses, etc., can be used more safely tlian in 
warm weather. And they can be used more safely by 
those who exercise in the open air than by those of confined 
and sedentary habits. 

Students who need food with little carbon, and women 
who live in the house, should always seek coarse bread," 
fruits, and lean meats, and avoid butter, oils, sugar, and . 
molasses, and articles containing them. 

Many, students and women using little exercise in the 
open air, grow thin and weak, because the vital powers are 
exhausted in throwing off excess of food, especially of the 
carbonaceous. The Ever is especially taxed in such cases, 
being unable to remove all the excess of carbonaceous mat- 
ter from the blood, and thus "biliousness" ensues, par- 
ticularly on the approach of warm weather, when the air 
brings less oxygen than in cold. 

It is found, by experiment, that the supply of gastric 
juice, furnished from the blood by the arteries of the 
stomach, is proportioned, not to the amount of food put 
into the stomach, but to the wants of the body ; so that it 
is possible to put much more into the stomach than 
can be digested. To guide and regulate in this matter, the 
sensation called himger is provided. In a healthy state of 
the body, as soon as the blood has lost its nutritive supplies, 
the craving of hunger is felt, and then, if the food is suit- 
able, and is taken in the proper manner, this sensation 
ceases as soon as the stomach has received enough to supply 
the wants of the system. But our benevolent Creator, in 
this, as in our other duties, has connected enjoyment with 
the operation needful to sustain our bodies. In addition 
to the allaying of hunger, the gratification of the palate is 
secured by the immense variety of food, some articles of 
which are far more agreeable than others. 

This arrangement of Providence, designed for our happi- 
ness, has become, either through ignorance, or want of 
self-control, the chief cause of the many diseases and suffer- 
ings which afflict those classes who have the means of seek- 
ing a variety to gratify the palate. If mankind had only 
one article of food, and only water to drink, though they 
would have less enjoyment in eating, they would never be ' 
tempted to put any more into the stomach than the calls of 
hunger require. But the customs of society, which present 
an incessant change, and a great variety of food, with those 



114 EVILS OF OVEB-EATING. 



various condiments which stimulate appetite, lead almost 
every person very frequently to eat merely to gratify the 
palate, after the stomach has been abundantly supplied, 
so that hunger has ceased. 

When too great a supply of food is put into the stomach, 
the gastric juice dissolves only that portion which the wants 
of the system demand. Most of the remainder is ejected, 
in an unprepared state ; the absorbents take portions of it 
into the system ; and all the various functions of the body, 
which depend on the ministries of the blood, are thus 
gradually and imperceptibly injured. Yery often, intem- 
perance in eating produces immediate results, such as colic, 
headaches, pains of indigestion, and vertigo. 

But the more general result is a gradual undermining of 
all parts of the human frame ; thus imperceptibly shorten- 
ing life, by so weakening the constitution, that it is ready 
to yield, at every point, to any uncommon risk or exposure. 
Thousands and thousands are passing out of the world, 
from diseases occasioned by exposures which a healthy con- 
stitution could meet without any danger. It is owing to these 
considerations, that it becomes the duty of every woman, 
who has the responsibility of providing food for a family, 
to avoid a variety of tempting dishes. It is a much safer 
rule, to have only one kind of healthy food, for each meal, 
than the too abundant variety which is often met at the 
tables of almost all classes in this country. When there is 
to be any variety of dishes, they ought not to be successive, 
but so arranged as to give the opportunity of selection. 
How often is it the case, that persons, by the appearance 
of a favorite article, are tempted to eat merely to gratify 
the palate, when the stomach is already adequately supplied. 
All such intemperance wears on the constitution, and 
shortens life. It not unfrequently happens that excess in 
eating produces a morbid appetite, which must constantly 
be denied. 

But the organization of the digestive organs demands, 
not only that food should be taken in proper quantities, 
but that it be taken at proper times. 

Fig. 56 shows one iniportant feature of the digestive 
organs relating to this point. . The part marked L M shows 
the muscles of the inner coat of the stomach, which run in 
one direction, and C M shows the muscles of the outer coat, 
running in another direction. 



THE STOMACH AND ITS OPEBATIONS. 



115 



Fia;. 56. 




As soon as the food enters the stomach, the muscles are 
excited by the nerves, and the peristaltic motion commences. 
This is a powerful and constant exercise of the muscles of 

the stomach, which 
continues until the 
process of digestion 
is complete. During 
this time the blood 
is withdrawn from 
other parts of the 
system, to supply the 
demands of the sto- 
mach, which is la- 
boring hard with all 
its muscles. When 
this motion ceases, 
and the digested food 
has gradually passed 
out, nature requires 
that the stomach should have a period of repose. And if 
another meal be eaten immediately after one is digested, 
the stomach is set to work again before it has had time to 
rest, and before a sufficient supply of gastric juice is pro- 
vided. 

The general rule, then, is, that three hours be given to 
the stomach for labor, and two for rest ; and in obedience 
to this, five hours, at least, ought to elapse between every 
two regular meals. In cases w^here exercise produces a flow 
of perspiration, more food is needed to supply the loss ; 
and strong laboring men may safely eat as often as they 
feel the want of food. So, young and healthy children, who 
gambol and^exercise much and whose bodies grow fast, may 
have a more frequent supply of food. But, as a general 
rule, meals should be '^yq hours apart, and eating between 
meals avoided. There is nothing more unsafe, and wearing 
to the constitution, than a habit of eating at any time 
merely to gratify the palate. When a tempting article is 
presented, every person should exercise sufficient self-denial 
to wait till the proper time for eating arrives. Children, 
as well as grown persons, are often injured by eating be- 
tween their regular meals, thus w^eakening the stomach by 
not affording it any time for rest. 

In deciding as to quantity of food, there is one great diffi- 



116 EFFECT OF EXER CISE. 



cult J to be met b j a large portion of the commiinit j. The 
exercise of every part of the body is necessary to its health 
and perfection. Xhe bones, the muscles, the nerves, the 
organs of digestion and respiration, and the skin, all de- 
mand exercise, in order properly to perform their functions. 
When the muscles of the body are called into action, all the 
blood-vessels entwined among them are frequently com- 
pressed. As the veins have valves so contrived that the 
blood can not run back, this compression hastens it for- 
ward toward the heart; which is immediately put in 
quicker motion, to send it into the lungs ; and they, also, 
are thus stimulated to more rapid action, which is the cause 
of that panting which active exercise always occasions. The 
blood thus courses with greater celerity through the body, 
and sooner loses its nourishing properties. Then the sto- 
mach issues its mandate of hunger, and a new supply of 
food must be furnished. 

Thus it appears, as a general rule, that the quantity of 
food actually needed by the body depends on the amount 
of muscular exercise taken. A laboring man, in the open 
fields, probably throws off from his skin and lungs a much 
larger amount than a person of sedentary pursuits. In 
consequence of this, he demands a greater amount of food 
and drink. 

Those persons who keep their bodies in a state of health 
by sufficient exercise can always be guided by the calls of 
hunger. They can eat when they feel hungry, and stop 
when hunger ceases ; and thus they will calculate exactly 
right. But the difficulty is, that a large part of the com- 
munity, especially women, are so inactive in their habits 
that they seldom feel the calls of hunger. They habitually 
eat, merely to gratify the palate. This produces such a 
state of the system that they lose. the guide which ISTature 
has provided. They are not called to eat by hunger, nor 
admonished, by its cessation, when to stop. In consequence 
of this, such persons eat what pleases the palate, till they 
feel no more inclination for the article. It is probable that 
three fourths of the women in the wealthier circles sit 
down to each meal without any feeling of hunger, and eat 
merely on account of the gratification thus afforded them. 
Such persons find their appetite to depend almost solely 
upon the kind of food on the table. This is not the case 
with those who take the exercise which ligature demands. 



STIMUL US NO T NUTRITION. 117 



Thej approach their meals in such a state that almost any 
kind of food is acceptable. 

The question then arises. How are persons, who have lost 
the- guide which ^N^atm'e has provided, to determine as to the 
proper amount of food they shall take ? 

The best method is for several days to take their 
ordinary exercise and eat only one or two articles of 
simple food, such as bread and milk, or bread and butter 
with cooked fruit, or lean meat with bread and vegetables, 
and at the same time eat less than the appetite demands. 
Then on the following two days, take just enough to 
satisfy the appetite, and on the third day notice the quan- 
tity which satisfies. After this, decide before eating that 
only this amount of simple food shall be taken. 

Persons who have a strong constitution, and take much 
exercise, maj^ eat almost any thing with apparent impunity ; 
but young childi'en who are forming their constitutions, and 
persons who are delicate, and who take but little exercise, 
are very dependent for health on a proper selection of food. 

It is found that there are some kinds of food which afford 
nutriment to the blood, and do not produce any other effect 
on the system. There are other kinds, which are not only 
nom^ishing, but stimulating^ so that they quicken the func- 
tions of the organs on which they operate. The condiments 
used in cookery, such as pepper, mustard, and spices, are of 
this nature. There are certain states of the system when 
these stimulants may be beneficial ; such cases can only be 
pointed out by medical men. 

Persons in perfect health, and especially young children, 
never receive any benefit from such kind of food ; and just 
in proportion as condiments operate to quicken the labors 
of the internal organs, they tend to wear down their powers. 
A person who thus keeps the body working under an un- 
natural excitement lives faster than J^ature designed, and 
the constitution is worn out just so much the sooner. A 
woman, therefore, should j)rovide dishes for her family which 
are free from these stimulating condiments. 

It is also found, by experience, that the lean part of ani- 
mal food is more stimulating than vegetable. This is the 
reason why, in cases of fevers or inflammations, medical 
men forbid the use of meat. A person who lives chiefly on 
animal food is under a higher degree of stimulus than if his 
food was chiefly composed of vegetable substances. His blood 



118 AMERICANS EAT TOO MUCH MEAT. 



will flow faster, and all the functions of his body will be 
quickened. This makes it important to secure a proper pro- 
portion of animal and vegetable diet. Some medical men 
suppose that an exclusively vegetable diet is proved, by the 
experience of many individuals, to be fully sufficient to nou- 
rish the body ; and bring, as evidence, the fact that some of 
the strongest and most robust men in the world are those 
who are trained, from infancy, exclusively on vegetable food. 
From this they infer that life will be shortened just in pro- 
portion as the diet is changed to more stimulating articles ; 
and that, all other things being equal, children will have a 
better chance of health and long life if they are brought 
up solely on vegetable food. 

But, though this is not the common opinion of medical 
men, they all agree that, in America, far too large a por- 
tion of the diet consists of animal food. As a nation, the 
Americans are proverbial for the gross and luxurious diet 
with which they load their tables; and there can be no 
doubt that the general health of the nation would be in- 
creased by a change in our customs in this respect. To take 
meat but once a day, and this in small quantities, compared 
with the common practice, is a rule, the observance of which 
would probably greatly reduce the amount of fevers, erup- 
tions, headaches, bilious attacks, and the many other ail- 
ments which are produced or aggravated by too gross a diet. 

The celebrated Roman physician, Baglivi, (who, from 
practicing extensively among Roman Catholics, had ample 
opportunities to observe,) mentions that, in Italy, an un- 
usual number of people recover their health in the forty days 
of Lent, in consequence of the lower diet which is required 
as a religious duty. An American physician remarks, "For 
every reeling drunkard that disgraces our country, it con- 
tains one hundred gluttons — persons, I mean, who eat to 
excess, and suffer in consequence." Another distinguished 
physician says, " I believe that every stomach, not actually 
impaired by organic disease, will perform its functions, if 
it receives reasonable attention ; and when we perceive the 
manner in which diet is generally conducted, both in regard 
to quantity and variety of articles of food and drink, which 
are mixed up in one heterogeneous mass — instead of being 
astonished at the prevalence of indigestion, our wonder must 
rather be that, in such circumstances, any stomach is capa- 
ble of digesting at all." 



MATTER AND MANNER OF EATING. 119 



In regard to articles which are the most easily digested, 
only general rules can be given. Tender meats are digest- 
ed more readily than those which are tough, or than many 
kinds of vegetable food. The farinaceous articles, such as 
rice, flour, corn, potatoes, and the like, are the most nutri- 
tious, and most easily digested. The popular notion, that 
meat is more nourishing than bread, is a great mistake. 
Good bread contains more nourishment than butcher's meat. 
The meat is more stimulating.^ and for this reason is more 
readily digested. 

A perfectly healthy stomach can digest almost any health- 
ful food ; but when the digestive powers are weak, every 
stomach has its peculiarities, and what is good for one is 
hmlful to another. In such cases, experiment alone can 
decide which are the. most digestible articles of food. A 
person whose food troubles him must deduct one article 
after another, till he learns, by experience, which is the best 
for digestion. Much evil has been done, by assuming that 
the powers of one stomach are to be made the rule in regu- 
lating every other. 

The most unhealthful kinds of food are those which are 
made so by bad cooking ; such as sour and heavy bread, 
cakes, pie-crust, and other dishes consisting of fat mixed 
and cooked with flour. Rancid butter and high-seasoned 
food are equally unwholesome. The fewer mixtures there 
are in cooking, the more healthful is the food likely to be. 

There is one caution as to the mode of eating which seems 
peculiarly needful to Americans. It is indispensable to good 
digestion, that food be well chewed and taken slowly. It 
needs to be thoroughly chewed and mixed with saliva, in 
order to prepare it for the action of the gastric juice, which, 
by the peristaltic motion, will be thus brought into contact 
with every one of the minute portions. It has been found 
that a solid lump of food requires much more time and la- 
bor of the stomach for digestion than divided substances. 

It has also been found, that as each bolus, or mouthfuj, 
enters the stomach, the latter closes, until the portion receiv- 
ed has had sorqe time to move around and combine with the 
gastric juice, and that the orifice of the stomach resists the 
entrance of any more till this is accomplished. But, if the 
eater persists in swallowing fast, the stomach yields ; the food 
is then poured in more rapidly than the organ can perform 
its duty of preparative digestion ; and evil results are sooner 



120 MISTAKES TO BE AVOIDED. 



or later developed. This exhibits the folly of those hasty 
meals, so common to travelers and to men of business, and 
shows why children should be taught to eat slowly. 

After taking a full meal, it is very important to health 
that no great bodily or mental exertion be made till the 
labor of the stomach is over. Intense mental eiFort draws 
the blood to the head, and muscular exertions draw it to 
the muscles ; and in consequence of this, the stomach loses 
the supply wdiich it requires when performing its 'office. 
When the blood with its stimulating effects is thus with- 
drawn from the stomach, the adequate supply of gastric 
juice is not afforded, and indigestion is the result. The 
heaviness which follows a full meal is the indication which 
]N"ature gives of the need of quiet. " When the meal is mod- 
erate, a sufficient quantity of gastric juice is exuded in an 
hour, or an hour and a half ; after which, labor of body and 
mind may safely be resumed. 

When undigested food remains in the stomach, and is at 
last thrown out into the bowels, it proves an irritating sub- 
stance, producing an inflamed state in the lining of the sto- 
mach and other organs. 

It is found that the stomach has the power of gradually 
accommodating its digestive powers to the food it habitually 
receives. Thus, animals which live on vegetables can gra- 
dually become accustomed to animal food ; and the reverse 
is equally true. Thus, too, the human stomach can even- 
tually accomplish the digestion of some kinds of 'food, which, 
at first, were indigestible. 

But any changes of- this sort should be gradual ; as those 
which are sudden are trying to the powers of the stomach, 
by furnishing matter for which its gastric juice is not pre- 
pared. 

Extremes of heat or. cold are injurious to the process of 
digestion. Taking hot food or drink, habitually, tends to 
debilitate all the organs thus needlessly excited. In using 
cold substances, it is found that a certain degree of warmth 
in the stomach is indispensable to their digestion ; so that, 
when the gastric juice is cooled below this .temperature, it 
ceases to act. Indulging in large quantities of cold drinks, 
or eating ice-creams, after a meal, tends to reduce the tem- 
perature of the stomach, and thus to stop digestion. This 
shows the folly of those refreshments, in convivial meetings, 
where the guests are tempted to load the stomach with a 



FL VID8 AND SO UPS BEABIL Y ABSORBED. 121 



variety sucli as would require the stomacli of a stout farmer 
to digest; and tlien to wind up with ice-creams, thus 
lessening whatever ability might otherwise have existed to 
digest the heavy load. The fittest temperature for drinks, 
if taken when the food is in the digesting process, is blood 
heat. Cool drinks, and even ice, can be safely taken at 
other times, if not in excessive quantity. When the thirst 
is excessive, or the body weakened by fatigue, or when in a 
state of perspiration, large quantities of cold drinks are in- 
jurious. 

Fluids taken into the stomach are not subject to the slow 
process of digestion, but are immediately absorbed and car- 
ried into the blood. This is the reason why liquid nourish- 
ment, more speedily than solid food, restores from exhaustion. 
The minute vessels of the stomach absorb its fluids, which 
are carried into the blood, just as the minute extremities of 
the arteries open upon the inner surface of the stomach, and 
there exude the gastric juice from the blood. 

"When food is chiefly liquid, (soup, for example,) the fluid 
part is rapidly absorbed. The solid parts remain, to be act- 
ed on by the gastric juice. In the case of St. Martin,"^ in 
fifty minutes after taking soup, the fluids were absorbed, 
and the remainder was even thicker than- is usual after eat- 
ing solid food. This is the reason why soups are deemed 
bad for weak stomachs ; as this residuum is more difiicult of 
digestion than ordinary food. 

Highly-concentrated food, having much nourishment in 
a small bulk, is not favorable to digestion, because it can not 
be properly acted on by the muscular contractions of the 
stomach, and is not so minutelv divided as to enable the 
gastric jmce to act properly. This is the reason why a cer- 
tain hiRli of food is needful to good digestion ; and why 
those people who live on whale-oil and other highly nou- 
rishing food, in cold climates, mix vegetables and even saw- 
dust with it to make it more acceptable and digestible. So 

* The individual hei'e referred to — Alexis St. Martin — was a young 
Canadian, eighteen years of age, of a good constitution and robust liealtb., 
who, in 1822, was accidentally wounded by the discharge of a musket which 
carried away a part of the ribs, lacerated one of the lobes of the lungs, 
and perforated the stomach, making a large aperture, which never closed ; 
and which enabled Dr. Beaumont (a surgeon of the American army, sta- 
tioned at Michilimackinac, under whose care the patient was placed) to 
witness all the processes of digestion and other functions of the body for 
several years. 



122 BULK NEEDFUL TO DIGESTION. 



in civilized lands, fruits and vegetables are mixed with more 
highly concentrated nourishment. For this reason also, 
soups, jellies, and arrow-root should have bread or crackers 
mixed with them. This aifords another reason why coarse 
bread, of unbolted wheat, so of tep proves beneficial. Where, 
from inactive habits or other causes, the bowels become con- 
stipated and sluggish, this kind of food proves the appro- 
priate remedy. 

One fact on this subject is worthy of notice. In Eng- 
land, under the administration of William Pitt, for two 
years or more there was such a scarcity of wheat that, to 
make it hold out longer. Parliament passed a law that 
the army should have all their bread made of unbolted 
flour. The result was, that the health of the soldiers im- 
proved so much as to be a subject of surprise to themselves, 
the officers, and the physicians. These last came out pub- 
licly and declared that the soldiers never before were so ro- 
bust and healthy ; and that disease had nearly disappeared 
from the army. The civic physicians joined and pronounced 
it the healthiest bread ; and for a time schools, families, and 
public institutions used it almost exclusively. Even the 
nobility, convinced by these facts, adopted it for their com- 
mon diet, and thfe fashion continued a long time after 
the scarcity ceased, until more luxurious habits resumed 
their sway. 

We thus see why children should not have cakes and can- 
dies allowed them between meals. Besides being largely 
carbonaceous, these are highly concentrated nourishments, 
and should be eaten with more bulky and less nourishing 
substances. The most indigestible of all kinds of food are 
fatty and oily substances, if heated. It is on this account 
that pie-crust and articles boiled and fried in fat or butter 
are deemed not so healthful as other food. 

The following, then, may be put down as the causes of a 
debilitated constitution from the misuse of food. Eating 
too much, eating too often, eating too fast, eating food and 
condiments that are too stitmdating, eating food that is too 
loarm or too cold, eating food that is highly concentrated, 
without a proper admixture of less nourishing matter, and 
eating hot food that is difficidt of digestion. 



X. 

HEALTHFUL DEESTKS. 

There is no direction in which a woman more needs both 
scientific knowledge and moral force than in using her 
influence to control her family in regard to stimulating 
beverages. 

It is a point fully established by experience that the full 
development of the human body and the vigorous exercise 
of all its functions can be secured without the use of stimu- 
lating drinks. It is, therefore, perfectly safe to bring up 
children never to use them, no hazard being incurred by 
such a course. 

It is also found by experience that there are two evils in- 
curred by the use of stimulating drinks. The first is, their 
positive eflfect on the human system. Their peculiarity con- 
sists in so exciting the nervous system that all the functions 
of the body are accelerated, and the fluids are caused to 
move quicker than at their natural speed. This increased 
motion of the animal fluids always produces an agreeable 
effect on the mind. The intellect is invigorated, the im- 
agination is excited, the spirits are enlivened ; and these 
euects are so agreeable that all mankind, after having once 
experienced them, feel a great desire for their repetition. 

But this temporary invigoration of the system is always 
followed by a diminution of the powers of the stimulated 
organs ; so that, though in all cases this reaction may not be 
perceptible, it is invariably the result. It may be set down 
as the unchangeable rule of physiology, that stimulating 
drinks deduct from the powers of the constitution in exact- 
ly the proportion in which they operate to produce tempo- 
rary invigoration. 

The second evil is the temptation which always attends 
the use of stimulants. Their effect on the system is so agree- 
able, and the evils resulting are so imperceptible and distant, 
that there is a constant tendency to increase such excitement 
both in frequency and power. And the more the system is 



124 THE ARGUMENT FOB STIMULANTS. 



thus reduced in strengtli, the more craying is the desire for 
that which imparts a temporary invigoration. This process 
of increasing debility and increasing craving for the stimu- 
lus that removes it, often goes to such an extreme that the 
passion is perfectly uncontrollable, and mind and body perish 
under this baleful habit. 

In this country there are three forms in which the use of 
such stimulants is common ; namely, oIgoJioUg drinhs, ojpi- 
um mixtures^ and tobacco. These are all alike in the main 
peculiarity of imparting that extra stimulus to the system 
which tends to exhaust its powers. 

Multitudes in this nation are in the habitual use of some 
one of these stimulants ; and each person defends the indul- 
gence by certain arguments: 

First, that the desire for stimulants is a natural propensity 
implanted in man's nature, as is manifest from the universal 
tendency to such indulgences in every nation. From this, 
it is inferred that it is an innocent desire, which ought to be 
gratified to some extent, and that the aim should be to keep 
it within the limits of temperance, instead of attempting to 
exterminate a natural propensity. 

This is an argument which, if true, makes it equally pro- 
sper for not only men, but women and children, to use opium, 
brandy, or tobacco as stimulating principles, provided they 
are used temperately. But if it be granted that perfect 
health and strength can be gained and secured without these 
stimulants, and that their peculiar effect is to diminish the 
power of the system in exactly the same proportion as they 
stimulate it, then there is no such thing as a temperate use, 
unless they are so diluted as to destroy any stimulating power ; 
and in this form they are seldom desired. 

The other argument for their use is, that they are stmong 
the good things provided by the Creator for our gratifica- 
tion ; that, like all other blessings, they are exposed to abuse 
.and excess ; and that we should rather seek to regulate their 
use than to banish them entirely. 

This argument is based on the assumption that they are, 
like healthful foods and drinks, necessary to life and health, 
and injurious only by excess. But this is not true ; for when- 
ever they are used in any such strength as to be a gratifica- 
tion, they operate to a greater or less extent as stimulants ; 
and to just such extent they wear out the powers of the 
constitution ; and it is abundantly proved that they are not, 



THE AEGUMENT AGAINST STIMULANTS. 125 



like food and drink, necessary to health. Snch articles are 
designed for medicine and not for common use. There can 
be no argument framed to defend the nse of one of them 
which will not justify women and children in most danger- 
ous indulgences. 

There are some facts recently revealed by the microscope 
in regard to alcoholic drinks, which every woman should 
understand and regard. It has been shown in a previous 
chapter that every act of mind, either by thought, feeling, 
or choice, causes the destruction of certain cells in the brain 
and nerves. It now is proved by microscopic science* that 
the kind of nutrition furnished to the brain by the blood to 
a certain extent decides future feelings, thoughts, and voli- 
tions. The cells of the brain not only abstract from the 
blood the healthful nutrition, but also are affected in shape, 
size, color, and action by unsuitable elements in the blood. 
This is especially the case when alcohol is taken into the 
stomach, from whence it is always carried to the brain. The 
consequence is, that it affects the nature and action of the 
brain-cells, until a habit is formed which is automatic i that 
is, the mind loses the power of controllings the brain in its 
development of thoughts, feelings, and choices as it would 
in the natural state, and is itself controlled by the brain. 
In this condition a real disease of the brain is created, called 
oino-mania, (see Glossary^ and the only remedy is total 
abstinence, and that for a long period, from the alcoholic 
poison. And what makes the danger more fearful is, that the 
brain-cells never are so renewed but that this pernicious 
stimulus will bring back the disease in full force, so that a 
man once subject to it is never safe except by maintaining 
perpetual and total abstinence from every kind of alcoholic 
drink. Dr. Day, who for many years has had charge of an 
inebriate asylum, states that he witnessed the dissection of the 
brain of a man once an inebriate, but for many years in 
practice of total abstinence, and found its cells still in 
the weak and unnatural state produced by earlier indul- 
gences. 

There has unfortunately been a difference of opinion 
among medical men as to the use of alcohol. Liebig, the 
celebrated writer on animal chemistry, having found that 

* For tliese statements the writer is indebted to Maudsley, a recent 
writer on Microscopic Pliysiology. 



126 EVILS OF USING ALCOHOL. 



both sugar and alcohol were heat-producing articles of food, 
framed a theory that alcohol is burnt in the lungs, giving 
off carbonic acid and water, and thus serving to warm the 
body. But modern science has proved that it is in the cap- 
illaries that animal heat is generated, and it is believed that 
alcohol lessens instead of increasing the power of the body to 
bear the cold. Sir John Ross, in his Arctic voyage, proved 
by his own experience and that of his men that cold-water 
drinkers could bear cold longer and were stronger than any 
who used alcohol. 

Carpenter, a standard writer on physiology, says the ob- 
jection to a habitual use of even small quantities of alcoholic 
didnks is, that " they are universally admitted to possess a 
poisonous character," and " tend to produce a morbid condi- 
tion of body ;" while " the capacity for enduring extremes 
of heat and cold, or of mental or bodily labor, is diminished 
rather than increased by their habitual employment." 

Prof. J. Bigelow, of Harvard University, says, "Alcohol 
is highly stimulating, heating, and intoxicating, audits effects 
are so fascinating that when once experienced there is dan- 
ger that the desire for them may be perpetuated." 

Dr. Bell and Dr. Churchill, both high medical authori- 
ties, especially in lung disease, for which whisky is often 
recommended, come to the conclusion that " the opinion that 
alcoholic liquors have influence in preventing the deposition 
of tubercle is destitute of any foundation ; on the contrary, 
their use predisposes to tubercular deposition." And " where 
tubercle exists, alcohol has no effect in modifying the usual 
course, neither does it modify the morbid effects on the 
system." 

Prof. Youmans, of l^ew-York, says : " It has been demon- 
strated that alcoholic drinks prevent the natural changes 
in the blood, and obstruct the nutritive and reparative func- 
tions." He adds, " Chemical experiments have demonstrated 
that the action of alcohol on the digestive fluid is to destroy 
its active principle, the pepsin^ thus confirming the observa- 
tions of physiologists, that its use gives rise to serious disor- 
ders of the stomach and malignant aberration of the whole 
economy." 

We are now prepared to consider the great principles of 
science, common sense, and religion, which should guide 
every woman who has any kind of influence or responsibil- 
ity on this subject. 



ALCOHOL TJNNECESSABY. 12' 



It is allowed bj all medical men that pure water is per- 
fectly healthful and supplies all the liquid needed bj the 
body ; and also that by proper means, which ordinarily are 
in the reach of all, water can be made sufficiently pure. 

It is allowed by all that milk, and the juices of fruits, when 
taken into the stomach, furnish water that is always pure, 
and that our bread and vegetable food also supply it 
in large quantities. There are besides a great variety of 
agreeable and healthful beverages, made from the juices of 
fruit, containing no alcohol, and agreeable drinks', such as 
milk, cocoa, and chocolate, that contain no stimulating prin- 
ciples, and which are nourishing and healthful. 

As one course, then, is perfectly safe and another in- 
volves great danger, it is wrong and sinful to choose the 
path of danger. There is no peril in drinking pure water, 
milk, the juices of fruits, and infusions that are nourishing 
and harmless. But there is great danger to the young, and 
to the commonwealth, in patronizing the sale and use of 
alcoholic drinks. The religion of Christ, in its distinctive 
feature, involves generous self-denial for the good of others, 
especially for the weaker members of society. It is on this 
principle that St. Paul sets forth his own example, " If meat 
make my brother to dffend, I will eat no flesh while the 
world standeth, lest I make my brother to oifend." And 
again he teaches, "We, then, that are strong ought to 
bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please our- 
selves." 

This Christian principle also applies to the common drinks 
of the family, tea and cofiee. 

It has been shown that the great end for which Jesus 
Christ came, and for which he instituted the family state, 
is the training of our whole race to virtue and happiness, 
with chief reference to an immortal existence. In this mis- 
sion, of which woman is chief minister, as before stated, the 
distinctive f eatm-e is self-sacrifice of the wiser and stronger 
members to save and to elevate the weaker ones. The chil- 
dren and the servants are these weaker members, who by 
ignorance and want of habits of self-control are in most 
danger. It is in this aspect that we are to consider the ex- 
pediency of using tea and cofiee in a family. 

These drinks are a most extensive cause of much of the 
nervous debility and suffering endured by American women; 
and relinquishing them would save an immense amount of 



128 ■ LANGEBS OF TEA AND COFFEE. 



siicli suffering. Moreover, all housekeepers will allow tliat 
they can not regulate these drinks in their kitchens, where 
the ignorant use them to excess. There is little probability 
that the present generation will make so decided a change 
, in their habits as to give up these beverages ; but the sub- 
ject is presented rather in reference to forming the habits 
of children. 

It is a fact that tea and coffee are at first seldom or never 
agreeable to children. It is the mixture of milk, sugar, and 
water, that reconciles them to a taste, which in this manner 
gradually becomes agreeable. IsTow suppose that those who 
» provide for a family conclude that it is not their duty to 
give up entirely the use of stimulating drinks, may not the 
case appear different in regard to teaching their children to 
love such drinks ? Let the matter be regarded thus : The 
experiments of physiologists all prove that stimulants are 
not needful to health, and that, as the general rule, they tend 
to debilitate the constitution. Is it right, then, for a parent 
to tempt a child to drink what is not needful, when there 
is a probability that it. will prove, to some extent, an under- 
mining drain on the constitution ? Some constitutions can ■ 
bear much less excitement than others ; and in every family 
of children, there is usually one or more of delicate organi- 
zation, and consequently peculiarly exposed to dangers from 
this source. It is this child who ordinarily becomes the vic- 
tim to stimulating drinks. The tea and coffee which the 
parents and the healthier children can use without immedi- 
ate injury,, gradually sap the energies of the feebler child, 
who proves either an early victim or a living martyr to /all 
the sufferings that debilitated nerves inflict. Can it be right 
to lead children where all allow that there is some danger, 
and where in many cases disease and death are met, when 
another path is known to be perfectly safe ? 

The impression common in this country, that warm dririks, 
especially in winter, are more healthful than cold, is not 
warranted by any experience, nor by the laws of the physical 
system. At dinner, cold drinks are universal, and no one 
deems them injurious. It is only at the other two meals 
that they are supposed to be hurtful. 

There is no doubt that warm drinks are healthful, and 
^^ more agreeable than cold, at certain times and seasons ; but 
it is equally true that drinks above blood-heat are not health- 
ful. If a person should bathe in warm water every day, 



SOT BRINKS INJURIOUS. 129 



debility would inevitably follow ; for the frequent applica- 
tion of the stimulus of heat, like all other stimulants, even- 
tually causes relaxation and weakness. If, therefore, a person 
is in the habit of drinking hot drinks twice a day, the teeth, 
throatj and stomach are gradually debilitated. This, most 
probably, is one of the causes of an early decay of the teeth, 
which is observed to be much more common among Ameri- 
can ladies, than among those in European countries. 

It has been stated to the writer, by an intelligent traveler 
who had visited Mexico, that it was rare to meet an indi- 
vidual with even a tolerable set of teeth, and that almost 
every grown person he met in the street had merely rem- 
nants of teeth. On inquiry into the customs of the country, ^ 
it was found that it was the universal practice to take their 
usual beverage at almost the boiling-point ; and this doubt- 
less was the chief cause of the almost entire want of teeth 
in that country. In the United States, it can not be doubted 
that much evil is done in this way by hot drinks. Most tea- 
drinkers consider tea as ruined if it stands until it reaches 
the healthful temperature for drink. 

The following extract, from Dr. Andrew Combe, presents 
the opinion of most intelligent medical men on this sub- 
ject.^ 

" Water is a safe drink for all constitutions, provided it 
be resorted to in obedience to the dictates of natural thirst 
only, and not of habit. Unless the desire for it is felt, there 
is no occasion for its use during a meal." 

" The primary eflfect of all distilled and fermented liquors 
is to stimulate the nervous system and quiclten the circula- 
tion. In infancy and childhood, the circulation is rapid and - 
easily excited ; and the nervous system is strongly acted 
upon even by the slightest external impressions. Hence, slight 
causes of irritation readily excite febrile and convulsive dis- 
orders. In youth, the natural tendency of the constitution 
is still to excitement, and consequently, as a general rule, the 
stimulus of fermented liquors is injurious." 

These remarks show that parents, who find that stimulating 
drinks are not injurious to themselves, may mistake in in- 

* The writer would here remark, in reference to extracts made from va- 
rious authors, that, for the sake of abridging, she has often left out parts 
of a paragraph, but never so as to modify the meaning of the author. 
Some ideas, not connected with the subject in hand, are omitted, but none 
are altered. 



130 NECESSITY OF PUBE WATER. 



f erring from this tliat they will not be injurious to their 
children. 

Dr. Comhe continues thus : " In mature age, when diges- 
tion is good, and the system in full vigor, if the mode of life 
be not too exhausting, the nervous functions and general 
circulation are in their be'st condition, and require no stim- 
ulus for their support. The bodily energy is then easily 
sustained by nutritious food and a regular regimen, and 
consequently artificial excitement only increases the wasting 
of the natural strength." 

It may be asked, in this connection, why the stimulus of 
animal food is not to be regarded in the same light as that 
of stimulating drinks. In reply, a very essential diiFerence 
may be pointed out. Animal food furnishes nutriment to 
the organs which it stimulates, but stimulating drinks excite 
the organs to quickened action without aifording any nou- 
rishment. 

It has been supposed by some that tea and coffee have, at 
least, a degree of nourishing power. But it is proved that 
it is the milk and sugar, and not the main portion of the 
drink, which imparts the nourishment. Tea has not one 
particle of nourishing properties ; and what little exists in the 
coffee-berry is lost by roasting it in the usual mode. All that 
these articles do, is simply to stimvlate without nourishing. 

Although there is little hope of banishing these drinks, 
there is still a chance that something may be gained in at- 
tempts to regulate their use by the rules of temperance. 
If, then, a housekeeper can not banish tea and coffee en- 
tirely, she may use her influence to' prevent excess, both by 
her instructions, and by the power of control committed 
more or less to her hands. 

It is important for every housekeeper to know that the 
health of a family very much depends on the jpurity of wa- 
ter used for cooking and drinking. There are three causes 
of impure and unhealthf ul water. One is, the existence in 
it of vegetable or animal matter, which can be remedied by 
filtering through sand and charcoal. Another cause is, the 
existence of mineral matter, especially in limestone coun- 
tries, producing diseases of the bladder. This is remedied 
in a measm^e by boiling, which secures a deposit of the lime 
on the vessel used. The third cause is, the corroding of zinc 
and lead used in pipes and reservoirs, producing oxides that 
are slow poisons The only remedy is prevention, by having 



POISONOUS EFFECTS OF OPIUM AND TOBACCO. 131 



snpply-pipes made of iron, like gas-pipe, instead of zinc and 
lead ; or the lately invented lead pipe Hned witli tin, wliicli 
metal is not corrosive. The obstacle to this is, that the trade 
of the plmnbers would be greatly diminished by the use of 
reliable pipes. When water must be used from supply-pipes 
of lead or zinc, it is well to let the water run some time be- 
fore drinking it and to use as little as possible, taking milk 
instead ; and being further satisfied for inner necessities by 
the water siipplied by fruits and vegetables. The water in 
these is always pure. But in using milk as a drink, it must 
be remembered that it is also rich food, and that less of 
other food must be taken when milk is thus used, or bilious 
troubles will result from excess of food. 

The use of opium, especially by women, is usually caused 
at first by medical prescriptions containing it. All that has 
been stated as to the effect of alcohol in the brain is true of 
opium ; while, to break a habit thus induced is almost hopeless. 
Every woman who takes or who administers this drug, is deal- 
ing as with poisoned arrows, whose wounds are without cure. 

The use of tobacco in this country, and especially among 
young boys, is increasing at a fearful rate. On this subject, 
we have the unanimous opinion of all medical men ; the fol- 
lowing being specimens. 

A distinguished medical writer thus states the case : " Every 
physician 'know^s that the agreeable sensations that tempt 
to the use of tobacco are caused by nicotine^ which is a rank 
poison, as much so as prussic acid or arsenic. When smoked, 
the poison is absorbed by the blood of the mouth, and car- 
ried to the brain. Wlien chewed, the nicotine passes to the 
blood through the mouth and stomach. In both cases, the 
whole nervous system is thrown into abnormal excitement to 
expel the poison, and it is this excitement that causes agree- 
able sensations. The excitement thus caused is invariably 
followed by a diminution of nervous power, in exact pro- 
portion to the preceding excitement to expel the evil from the 
system." 

Few will dispute the general truth and effect of the 
above statement, so that the question is one to be settled on 
the same principle as applies to the use of alcoholic drinks. 
Is it, then, according to the generous principles of Christ's 
religion, for those who are strong and able to bear this poison, 
to tempt the young, the ignorant, and the weak to a prac- 
tice not needful to any healthful enjoyment, and which leads 



132 DAN GEES OF THE TIMES. 



multitudes to disease, and often to vice ? For the use of 
tobacco tends always to lessen nerve-power, and probably 
every one out of five that indulges in its use awakens a mor- 
bid craving for increased stimulus, lessens the power of 
self-control, diminishes the strength of the constitution, and 
sets an example that influences the weak to the path of 
danger and of frequent ruin. 

The great danger of this age is an increasing, intense 
worldliness, and disbelief in the foundation principle of the 
religion of Christ, that we are to reap through everlasting 
ages the consequences of habits formed in this life. In the 
light of his word, they only who are truly wise " shall shine 
as the firmament, and they that turn many to righteousness, 
as the stars, forever and ever." 

It is increased yb^^'^A or 'belief in the teachings of Christ's 
religion, as to the influence of this life upon the life to come, 
which alone can save our country and the world from that 
inrushing tide of sensualism and worldliness, now seeming 
to threaten the best hopes and prospects of our race. 

And woman, as the chief educator of our race, and the 
prime minister of the family state, is bound in the use of 
meats and drinks to employ the powerful and distinctive 
motives of the religion of Christ in forming habits of tem- 
perance and benevolent self-sacrifice for the good^of others. 



XI. 



CLEANLINESS. 



Mg. 57. 



Both the health and comfort of a family depend, to a 
great extent, on cleanliness of the person and the family 
surroundings. True cleanliness of person involves the sci- 
entific treatment of the skin. This is the most complicated 
organ of the body, and one through which the health is af- 
fected more than through any other ; and no persons can or 
will be so likely to take proper care of it as those by whom 
its construction and functions are understood. 

Fig. 57 is a very highly 
magnified portion of the 
skin. The layer marked 
1 is the outside, very thin 
skin, called the cuticle or 
scarf skin. This consists 
of transparent layers of 
minute cells, which are 
constantly decaying and 
being renewed, and the 
white scurf that passes 
from the skin to the cloth- 
ing is a decayed portion of 
these cells. This part of 
the skin has neither nerves 
nor blood-vessels. 
The dark layer, marked 2, 7, 8, is that portion of the ti'ue 
skm v/hich gives the external color marking diverse races. 
In the portion of the dark layer marked 3, 4, is seen a net- 
work of nerves which run from two branches of the nervous 
trunks coming from the spinal marrow. These are nerves 
of sensation, by which the sense of touch or feeling is per- 
formed. Fig. 58 represents the blood-vessels, (intermingled 




134 



CAPILLARIES— AB80BBENTS— OIL- TUBES. 



with the nerves of the skin,) which divide into minute ca- 
pillaries, that act like the capil- 
laries of the Inngs, taking oxygen 
from the air, and giving out car- 
bonic acid. At a and h are seen 



Fisf. 58. 




Fig. 59. 



the roots of two hairs, which 



abound in certain parts of the 
skin, and are nourished by the 
blood of the capillaries. 

At Fig. 59 is a magnified view 
of another set of vessels, called 
the lyiiifhatics or absorbents. 
These are extremely minute 
vessels that interlace with the 
nerves and blood-vessels of the 
skin. Their ofiice is to aid in 
collecting the useless, injurious, or decayed matter, and 
carry it to certain reservoirs, from which it passes into 
some of the large veins, to be thrown out through the 
lungs, bowels, kidneys, or skin. 
These ■ absorbent or lymjphatic 
vessels have mouths opening 
on the surface of the true skin, 
and, though covered by the 
cuticle, they can absorb both 
liquids and solids that are 
placed in close contact with 
the skin. In proof of this, one 
of the main trunks of the lym- 
phatics in the hand can be cut 
off from all communication 
with other portions, and tied 
U13 : and if the hand is immersed in milk a given time, it 
will be found that the milk has been absorbed through the 
cuticle and fills the lymphatics. In this way, long-con- 
tinued bhsters on the skin will introduce the blistering mat- 
ter into the blood through the absorbents, and then the kid- 
neys will take it up from the blood passing through them to 
carry it out of the body, and thus become irritated and in- 
flamed by it. 

There are also oil-tubes, imbedded in the skin, that draw 
off oil from the blood. This issues on the surface and spreads 
over the cuticle to keep it soft and moist. 




FERSPIEA TION- TUBES— M TICO US MEMBBANE. 



135 



Fig. 60. 



But the most curious part of the skin is the system of in- 
nmnerable minute perspiration-tubes. Fig. 60 is a draw- 
ing of one very greatly magnified. These tubes open on 
the cuticle, and the openings ai^ called pores of the skin. 

They descend into the true skin, and 
there form a coil, as is seen in the 
drawing. These tubes are hollow, like 
a pipe-stem, and their inner surface 
consists of wonderfully minute capilla- 
ries filled with the impure venous 
blood. And in these small tubes the 
same process is going on as takes place 
when the carbonic acid and water of 
the blood are exhaled from the lungs. 
The capillaries of these tubes through 
the whole skin of the body are thus 
constantly exhaling the noxious and 
decayed particles of the body, just as 
the lungs pour them out through the 
mouth and nose. 

It has been shown that the perspira- 
tion-tubes are coiled up into a ball at 
their base. The number and extent of 
these tubes are astonishing. In a square 
inch on the palm of the hand have 
been counted, through a microscope, thirty-five hundred of 
these tubes. Each one of them is about a quarter of an 
inch in length, including its coils. This makes the united 
lengths of these little tubes to be seventy-three feet to a 
square inch. Their united length over the whole body is 
thus calculated to be equal to twenty-eight TJiiles. What 
a wonderful apparatus this ! And what mischiefs must 
ensue when the drainage from the body of such an extent 
as this becomes obstructed ! 

But the inside of the body also has a skin, as have all its 
organs. The interior of the head, the throat, the gullet, the 
lungs, the stomach, and all the intestines, are lined with a 
skin. This is called the mucous meinhrane^ because it is 
constantly secreting from the blood a slimy substance called 
WMGus. When it accumulates in the lungs, it is called^:?AZ^^m. 
This inner skin also has nerves, blood-vessels, and lymphatics. 
The outer skin joins to the inner at the mouth, the nose, and 
other openings of the body, and there is a constant sympathy 




136 TEE LIVEB, KIDNEYS, PANCREAS, GLANDS. 



between the two skins, and tlius between tbe inner organs 
and the surface of the body. 

SECKETING OKGANS. 

Those vessels of the body which draw off certain portions 
of the blood and change it into a new form, to be employed 
for service or to be thrown out of the body, are called se- 
creting organs. The skin in this sense is a secreting organ, 
as its perspiration-tubes secrete or separate the bad portions 
of the blood, and send them off. 

Of the internal secreting organs, the liver is the largest. 
Its chief office is to secrete from the blood all matter not 
properly supplied with oxygen. For this purpose, a set of 
veins carries the blood of all the lower intestines to the liver, 
where the imperfectly oxidized matter is drawn off in the 
form of hile^ and accumulated in a reservoir called the 
gall-bladder. Thence it passes to the place where the 
smaller intestines receive the food from the stomach, and 
there it mixes with this food. Then it passes through the 
long intestines, and is thrown out of the body through the 
rectum. This shows how it is, that want of pure and cool 
air and exercise causes excess of bile, from lack of oxygen. 
The liver also has arterial blood sent to nourish it, and cor- 
responding veins to return this blood to the heart. So there 
are two sets of blood-vessels for the liver — one to secrete the 
bile, and the other to nourish the organ itself. 

The kidneys secrete from the arteries that pass through 
them all excess of water in the blood, and certain injurious 
substances. These are carried through small tubes to the 
bladder, and thence thrown out of the body. 

The pancreas.^ a whitish gland, situated in the abdomen 
below the stomach, secretes from the arteries that pass 
through it the pancreatic juice, which unites with the bile 
from the liver, in preparing the food for nourishing the 
body. 

There are certain little glands near the eyes that secrete 
the tears, and others near the mouth that secrete the saliva, 
or spittle. 

These organs all have arteries sent to them to nourish 
them, and also veins to carry away the impure blood. At 
the same time, they secrete from the arterial blood the pe- 
culiar fluid which it is their office to supply. 



SYMPATHETIC CONNECTION OF BODILY OB CANS. 137 



All the food that passes through the lower intestines 
which is not drawn off by the lacteals or by some of these 
secreting organs, passes from the body through a passage 
called the rectum. 

Learned men have made very curious experiments to as- 
certain how much the several organs throw out of the body, 
It is found that the skin throws off five out of eight pounds 
of the food and drink, or probably about three or four 
pounds a day. The lungs throw off one quarter as much 
as the skin, or about a pound a day. The remainder is 
carried off by the kidneys and lower intestines. 

There is such a sympathy and connection, between all the 
organs of the body, that when one of them is unable to 
work, the others perform the office of the feeble one. 
Thus, if the skin has its perspiration-tubes closed up by a ^ 
chill, then all the poisonous matter that would have been 
thrown out through them must be emptied out either by 
the lungs, kidneys, or bowels. 

When all these organs are strong and healthy, they can 
bear this increased labor without injury. But if the lungs 
are weak, the blood sent from the skin by the chill engor- 
ges the weak blood-vessels, and produces an inflammation 
of the lungs. Or it increases the discharge of a slimy mu- 
cous substance, that exudes from the skin of the lungs. 
This fills up the air-vessels, and would very soon end life, 
were it not for the spasms of the lungs, called coughing^ 
which throw off this substance. 

If, on the other hand, the bowels are weak, a chill of the 
skin sends the blood into all the blood-vessels of the intes- 
tines, and produces inflammation there, or else an excessive 
secretion of the mucous substance,' which is called a diar- 
rhea. Or if the kidneys are weak, there is an increased se- 
cretion and discharge from them, to an unhealthy and in- 
jurious extent. 

This connection between the skin and internal organs is 
shown, not only by the internal effects of a chill on the skin ; 
but by the sympathetic effect on the skin when these internal 
organs suffer. For example, there are some kinds of food 
that will irritate and influence the stomach or the bowels ; 
and tliis, by sympathy, will produce an immediate eruption on 
the skin. Some persons, on eating strawberries, will imme- 
diately be affected with a nettle-rash. Others can not eat 
certain shell-fish without being affected in this way. Many 



138 PROPER TREATMENT OF THE SKIN. 



humors on the face are caused by a diseased state of the 
internal organs with which the skin sympathizes. 

This short acconnt of the construction of the skin, and 
of its intimate connection with the internal organs, shows 
the philosophy of those modes of medical treatment that are 
addressed to this portion of the body. 

It is on this powerful agency that the steam-doctors rely, 
when, by moisture and heat, they stimulate all the innu- 
merable perspiration-tubes and lymphatics to force out 
from the body a flood of unnaturally excited secretions; 
while it is " kill or cure," just as the chance may meet or 
oppose the demands of the case. It is the skin also that is 
the chief basis of medical treatment in the Water Cure, 
whose slow processes Ire as much safer as they are slower. 

At the same time it is the ill-treatment or neglect of the 
skin which, probably, is the cause of disease and decay 
to an incredible extent. The various particulars in which 
this may be seen will now; be pointed out. In the man- 
agement and care of this wonderful and complex part of 
the body, many mistakes have been made. 

The most common one is the misuse of the bath, especially 
since cold water cm^es have come into use. This mode of 
medical treatment originated with an ignorant peasant, amid 
a population where outdoor labor had strengthened nerves 
and muscles and imparted rugged powers to every part of the 
body. It was then introduced into England and America 
without due consideration or knowledge of the diseases, 
habits, or real condition of patients, especially of women. 
The consequence was a mode of treatment too severe and 
exhausting ; and many practices were spread abroad not 
warranted by true medical science. 

But in spite of these mistakes and abuses, the treatment 
of the skin for disease by the use of cold water has become 
an accepted doctrine of the most learned medical practi- 
tioners. It is now held by all ^ such that fevers can be de- 
tected in their distinctive features by the thermometer, and 
that all fevers can be reduced by cold baths and packing in 
the wet sheet, in the mode employed in all water-cures. Di- 
rections for.using this method will be given in another place. 

It has been supposed that large bath-tubs for immersing 
the whole person are indispensable to the proper cleaning of 
the skin. This is not so. A wet towel, applied every morn- 
ing to the skin, followed by friction in pure air, is all that 



EFFECTS OF RIGHT TREATMENT. 139 



is absolntely needed ; althongli a fnll bath is a great luxnrj. 
Access of air to every part of the skin when its perspiratory 
tubes are cleared and its blood-vessels are filled by friction 
is the best ordinary bath. 

In early life, children shonld be washed all over, every 
night or morning, to remove impurities from the skin. But 
in this process, careful regard should be paid to the peculiar 
constitution of a child. Yery nervous children sometimes 
revolt from cold water, and like a tepid bath. Others pre- 
fer a cold bath ; and nature should be the guide. It must be 
remembered that the skin is the great organ of sensation, and 
in close connection with brain, spine, and nerve-centres : so 
that what a strong nervous system can bear with advantage 
is too powerful and exhausting for another. As age advances, 
or as disease debilitates the body, great care should be taken 
not to overtax the nervous system by sudden shocks, or to 
diminish its powers by withdrawing animal heat to excess. 
Persons lacking robustness should bathe or use friction in 
a warm room ; and if very delicate, should expose only a 
portion of the body at once to cold air. 

Johnson, a celebrated writer on agricultural chemistry, 
tells of an experiment by friction on the skin of pigs, whose 
skins are like that of the human race. He treated six of 
these animals with a curry-comb seven weeks, and left three 
other pigs untouched. The result was a gain of thirty-three 
pounds more of weight, with the use of five bushels less of 
food for those curried, than for the neglected ones. This 
result was owing to the fact that all the functions of the 
body were more perfectly performed when, by friction, the 
skin was kept free from filth and the blooH in it exposed to 
the air. The same will be true of the human skin. A cal- 
culation has been made on this fact, by which it is estima- 
ted that a man, by proper care of his skin, would save over 
thirty-one dollars in food yearly, which is the interest on 
over -^^Q hundred dollars. If men will give as much care 
to their own skin as they give to currying a horse, they will 
gain both health and wealth. 



xn. 

CLOTHING, 

There is no duty of those persons having control of a 
family where principle and practice are more at variance 
than in regulating the dress of young girls, especially at 
the most important and critical period of life. It is a dif- 
ficult duty for parents and teachers to contend with the 
power of fashion, which at this time of a young girl's life is 
frequently the ruling thought, and when to be out of the 
fashion, to be odd and not dress as all her companions do, 
is a mortification and grief that no argument or instructions 
can relieve. The mother is often so overborne that, in spite 
of her better wishes, the daughter adopts modes of dress 
alike ruinous to health and to beauty. 

The greatest protection against such an emergency is to 
train a child to understand the construction of her own 
body and to impress upon her, in early days, her obliga- 
tions to the invisible Friend and Guardian of her life, the 
" Former of her body and the Father of her spirit," who has 
committed to her care so precious and beautiful a casket. 
And the more she can be made to realize the skill and 
beauty of construction shown in her earthly frame, the 
more will she feel the obligation to protect it from injury 
and abuse. 

It is a singular fact that the war of fashion has attacked 
most fatally what seems to be the strongest foundation and 
defense of the body, the bones. For this reason, the con- 
struction and functions of this part of the body will now 
receive attention. 

The bones are composed of two substances, one animal, 
and the other mineral. The animal part is a very fine 
network, called celhdar' membrane. In this are deposited 
the harder mineral substances, which are composed princi- 
pally of carbonate and phosphate of lime. In very early 
life, the bones consist chiefly of the animal part, and are 



F OEM ATI ON OF THE SPINE.. 



141 



then soft and pliant. As the child advances in age, the 
bones grow harder, by the gradual deposition of the phos- 
phate of lime, which is supplied bj the food, and carried to 
the bones by the blood. In old age, the hardest material 
preponderates ; making the bones more brittle than in ear- 
lier life. 

The bones are covered with a thin skin or membrane, 
filled with small blood-vessels which convey nourishment 
to them. 

Where the bones nnite with others to form joints, they 
are covered mth cartilage^ which is a smooth, white, elas- 
tic substance. This enables the joints to move smoothly, 
while its elasticity prevents injuries from sudden jars. 

The joints are bound together by strong, elastic bands 
called ligaments, which hold them firmly and prevent dis- 
location. 

Between the ends of the bones that unite to form joints 
are small sacks or bags, that contain a soft lubricating fluid. 
This answers the same purpose for the joints as oil in mak- 
ing machinery work smoothly, while the supply is constant 
and always in exact proportion to the demand. 

If you will examine the leg of some fowl, you can see the 
cartilage that covers the ends of the bones at the joints, 
and the strong white ligaments that bind the joints toge- 
ther. 

The health of the bones depends on the proper nomish- 

ment and exercise of the body as 
much as that of any other part. 
When a child is feeble and un- 
healthy; or when it grows up with- 
out exercise, the bones do not be- 
come firm and hard as they are 
when the body is healthfully devel- 
oped by exercise. The size as well 
as the strength of the bones, to a 
certain extent, also depend upon 
exercise and good health. 

The chief supporter of the body 
is the spine, which consists of twen- 
ty-four small bones, interlocked or 
hooked in^o each other, while between them are elastic 
cushions of cartilage which aid in preserving the upright, 
natural position. Fig. 61 shows three of the spinal bones, 



Fig. 61. 




142 ■ EVILS OF TIGHT DBESSINQ. 



hooked into each other, the dark spaces showing the disks 
or flat circular plates of cartilage between them. 

The spine is held in its 'proper position, partly by the ribs, 
partly by muscles, partly by aid of the elastic disks, and 
partly by the close packing of the intestines in front of it. 

The upper part of the spine is often thrown out of its 
proper position by constant stooping of the head over books 
or work. This affects the elastic disks so that they grow 
thick at the back side and thinner at the front side by snch 
constant pressure. The result is the awkward projection 
of the head forward which is often seen in schools and col- 
leges. 

Another distortion of the spine is produced by tight dress 
around the waist. The liver occupies the right side of the 
body and is a solid mass, while on the other side is the larger 
part of the stomach, which is often empty. The conse- 
quence of tight dress around the waist is a constant pres- 
sure of the spine toward the unsupported part where the 
stomach lies. Thus the elastic disks again are compressed ; 
till they become thinner on one side than the other, and 
harden into that condition. This produces what is called 
the lateral curvature of the spine, making one shoulder 
higher than the other. 

The compression of the lower part of the waist is especial- 
ly dangerous at the time young girls first enter society and 
are tempted to dress according to the fashion. Many a 
school-girl, whose waist was originally of a proper and 
healthful size, has gradually pressed the soft bones of 
youth until the lower ribs that should rise and fall with 
every breath, become entirely unused. Then the abdomi- 
nal breathing, performed by the lower part of the lungs, 
ceases ; the whole system becomes reduced in strength ; 
the abdominal muscles that hold up the interior organs be- 
come weak, and the upper ones gradually sink upon the lower. 
. This pressure of the upper interior organs upon the lower 
ones, by tight dress, is increased, by the weight of clothing 
resting on the hips and abdomen. Corsets, as usually worn, 
have no support from the shoulders, and consequently all 
the weight of dress resting upon or above them presses 
upon the hips and abdomen, and this in such a way as to 
throw out of use and thus weaken the most important sup- 
porting muscles of the abdomen, and impede abdominal 
breathing. 



INTERNAL DISPLACEMENTS. 143 



The diaphragm is a kind of muscular floor, extending 
across the centre of the body, on which the heart and lungs 
rest. Beneath it are the liver, stomach, and the abdomi- 
nal viscera, or intestines, which are supported by tlie abdo- 
minal muscles, running upward, downward, and crosswise. 
When these muscles are thrown out of use, they lose their 
power, the whole system of organs mainly resting on them 
for support can not continue in their naturally snug, compact, 
and rounded form, but become separated, elongated, and un- 
supported. The stomach begins to draw from above instead 
of resting on the viscera beneath. This in some cases causes 
dull and wandering pains, a sense of pulling at the centre 
of the chest, and a drawing downward at the pit of the 
stomach. Then as the support beneath is really gone., there 
is what is often called " a feeling of goneness^ This is 
sometimes relieved by food, which, so long as it remains in 
a solid form, helps to hold up the falling superstructure. 
This displacement of the stomach, liver, and spleen inter- 
rupts their healthful functions, and dyspepsia and biliary 
difficulties not unfrequently are the result. 

As the stomach and its appendages fall downward, the 
dia/phragm^ which holds up the heart and lungs, must des- 
cend also. In this state of things, the inflation of the lungs is 
less and less aided by the abdominal muscles, and is con- 
fined chiefly to their upper portion. Breathing sometimes 
thus becomes quicker and shorter on account of the elon- 
gated or debilitated condition of the assisting organs. Con- 
sumption not unfrequently results from this cause. 

The heart also feels the eviL " Palpitations," " flutter- 
ings," " sinking feelings," all show that, in the language of 
Scri23ture, "the heart trembleth, and is moved out of its 
place." 

But the louver -intestines are the greatest suflferers from 
this dreadful abuse of nature. Having the weight of all 
the unsupported organs above pressing them into unnatural 
and distorted positions, the passage of the food is inter- 
rupted, and inflammations, indurations, and constipation 
are the frequent result. Dreadful ulcers and cancers may 
be traced in some instances to this cause. 

Although these internal displacements are most common 
among women, some foolish members of the other sex are 
adopting customs of dress, in girding the central portion of 
the body, that tend to similar results. 



144 TEBBIBLE STIFFEEmGS OF FOOLISH WOMEIT. 



J 



But this distortion brings upon woman peculiar distresses. 
The pressure of the whole superincumbent mass on the 
pelvic or lower organs induces sufferings proportioned in 
acuteness to the extreme delicacy and sensitiveness of the 
parts thus crushed. And the intimate connection of these 
organs with the brain and whole nervous system renders in- 
juries thus inflicted the causes of the most extreme anguish, 
both of body and mind. This evil is becoming so com- 
mon, not only among married women, but among young 
girls, as to be a just cause for universal alarm. 

How very common these sufferings are, few but the medi- 
cal profession can realize, because they are troubles that 
must be concealed. Many a woman is moving about in un- 
complaining agony who, with any other trouble involving 
equal suffering, would be on her bed surrounded by sym- 
pathizing friends. 

The terrible sufferings that are sometimes thus induced 
can never be conceived of, or at all appreciated from, any 
' use of language. IsTo thing that the public can be made to 
believe on this subject will ever equal the reality. I^ot 
only matm*e persons and mothers, but fair young girls some- 
times, are shut up for months and years as helpless and 
suffering invalids from this cause. This may be found all 
over the land. And there frequently is a horrible extremity 
of suffering in certain forms of this evil, which no woman 
of feeble constitution can ever be certain may not be her 
doom. JSTot that in all cases this extremity is involved, but 
none can say who will escape it. 

-In regard to this, if one must choose for a friend or a 
child, on the one hand, the horrible torments inflicted by 
savage Indians or cruel inquisitors on their victims, or, on 
the other, the protracted agonies that result from such de- 
formities and displacements, sometimes the former would 
be a merciful exchange. 

1 And yet this is the fate that is 'coming to meet the young 
as well as the mature in every direction. And tender 
parents are unconsciously leading their lovely and hapless 
daughters to this awful doom. 

There is no excitement of the imagination in what is here 
indicated. If the facts and details could be presented, they 
would send a groan of terror all over the land. For it is 
not one class, or one section, that is endangered. In every 
part of our country the evil is progressing. 



JACKET TO REPLACE CORSETS. 



145 



And, as if these dreadful ills were not enough, there have 
been added methods of medical treatment at once useless, tor- 
tming to the mind, and involving great liability to immorali- 
ties. 

In hope of abating these evils, drawings are given (Fig. 
62 and Fig. 63) of the front and back of a jacket that will 

preserve the advantages of 
• ^^s- 62. |]^g corset without its evils. 

This jacket may at first ba 
fitted to the figure with cor- 
sets underneath it, just like 
the waist of a dress. Then, 
delicate whalebones can be 
used to stiffen the jacket, so 
that it will take the proper 
shape, when the corset may 
be dispensed with. The but- 
tons below are to hold all 
articles of dress below the 
waist by button-holes. By 
this method, the bust is supported as well as by corsets, while 
the shoulders -support from above, as they should do, the 
weight of the dress below. E'o stifiT bone should be allowed 
to press in front, and the jacket should be so* loose that a 
full breath can be inspired with ease, while in a sitting 
position. 

The proper way to dress a young girl is to have a cotton 
or flannel close-fitting jacket 
next the body, to which the -^^s- 63. 

drawers should be buttoned. 
Over this, place the chemise ; 
and over that, such a jacket 




as the one here drawn, to 



which should be buttoned the 

hoops and other skirts. Thus 

every article of dress will be 

supported by the shoulders. 

The sleeves of the jacket can 

be omitted, and in that case a 

strong lining, and also a tape 

binding, must surround the arm-hole, which should be 

loose. 

It is hoped that increase of intelligence and moral power 




146 • DBESS OF TOUNQ CHILDBEm 



among mothers, and a combination among tliem to regulate 
fashions, may banish the pernicious practices that have pre- 
vailed. If a school-girl dress without corsets and without 
tight belts could be established as a fashion, it would be 
one step gained in the right direction. Then if mothers 
could secure daily domestic exercise in chambers, eating- 
rooms, and parlors in loose dresses, a still farther advance 
would be secured. 

A friend of the writer informs her that her daughter had 
her wedding outfit made up bj a fashionable milliner in 
Paris, and every dress was beautifully fitted to the form, 
and yet was not compressing to any part. This was done 
too without the use of corsets, the stiffening being delicate 
and yielding whalebones. 

ITot only parents but all having the care of young girls, 
especially those at boarding-schools, have a fearful responsi- 
bility resting upon them in regard to this important duty. 

In regard to the dressing of young children, much discre- 
tion is needed to adapt dress to circumstances and peculiar 
constitutions. The leading fact must be borne in mind that 
the skin is made strong and healthful by exposure to light and 
pure air, while cold air, if not excessive, has a tonic influence. 
If the skin of infants is rubbed with the hand till red with 
blood, and then exposed naked to sun and air in a well-ven- 
tilated room, it will be favorable to health. 

There is a constitutional difference in the skin of different 
children in regard to retaining the animal heat manufactur- 
ed^ within, so that some need more clothing than others for 
comfort, l^ature is a safe guide to a careful nurse and 
mother, and will indicate by the looks and actions of a child 
when more clothing is needful. As a general rule, it is 
safe for a healthful child to wear as little clothing as suffi- 
ces to keep it from complaining of cold. Fifty years ago, 
it was not common for children to wear as much under-cloth- 
ing as they now do. The writer well remembers how even 
girls, though not of strong constitutions, used to play for hours 
in the snow-drifts without the protection of drawers, kept 
warm by exercise and occasional runs to an open fire. And 
multitudes of children grew to vigorous maturity through 
similar exposures to cold air-baths, and without the frequent 
colds and sicknesses so common among children of the 
present day, who are more carefully housed and warmly 
dressed. But care was taken that the feet should be kept 



DBE88 OF THE AGED. 147 



dry and warmly clad, because, circulation being feebler in 
the extremities, this precaution was important. ■ 

It must also be considered that age brings with it decrease 
in vigor of circulation, and the consequent generation of 
heat, so that more warmth of air and clothing is needed at 
an advanced period of life than is suitable for the young. 

These are the general principles which must be applied 
with modification to each individual case. A child of deli- 
cate constitution must have more careful protection from 
oold air than is desirable for one more vigorous, while the 
leading general principle is retained that cold air is a health- 
ful tonic for the skin whenever it does not produce an un- 
comfortable chilliness. 



XIII. 

GOOD COOKING. 

There are but a few things on which health and happi- 
ness depend more than on the manner in which food is 
cooked. Yon may make honses enchantingly beautiful, 
hang them with pictures, have them clean and airy and con- 
venient; but if the stomach is fed with sour bread and 
burnt meats, it will raise such rebellions that the eyes will 
see no beauty anywhere. The abundance of splendid ma- 
terial we have in America is in great contrast with the 
style of cooking most prevalent in our country. How often, 
in journeys, do we sit down to tables loaded with material, 
originally of the very best kind, which has been so spoiled 
in the treatment that there is really nothing to eat ! Green 
biscuits with acrid spots of alkali ; sour yeast-bread ; meat 
slowly simmered in fat till it seemed like grease itself, and 
slowly congealing in cold grease ; and above all, that un- 
pardonable enormity, strong butter! How one longs to 
show people what might have been done with the raw ma- 
terial out of which all these monstrosities were concocted ! 

There is no country where an ample, well-furnished table 
is more easily spread, and for that reason, perhaps, none 
where the bounties of Providence are more generally ne- 
glected. Considering that our resources are greater than 
those of any other civilized people, our results are compara- 
tively poorer. 

It is said that a list of the summer vegetables which are 
exhibited on New- York hotel-tables being shown to a French 
artiste^ he declared that to serve such a dinner properly 
would take till midnight. A traveler can not but be struck 
with our national plenteousness, on returning from a Con- 
tinental tour, and going directly from the ship to a J^ew- 
York hotel, in the bounteous season of autumn. For 
months habituated to neat little bits of chop or poultry, 
garnished with the inevitable cauliflower or potato, which 



INFEBIORITY OF THE AMEBIC AN TABLE. 149 



seemed to be tlie sole possibility after tbe reign of green- 
peas was over; to sit down all at once to such a carnival ! to 
sncb ripe, juicy tomatoes, raw or cooked ; encumbers in brittle 
slices; rich, yellow sweet-potatoes; broad lima-beans, and 
beans of other and various names ; tempting ears of Indian- 
corn steaming in enormous piles ; great smoking tureens of 
the savory succotash, an Indian gift to the table for which 
civilization need not blush ; sliced egg-plant in delicate frit- 
ters ; and marrow-squashes, of creamy pulp and sweetness ; 
a rich variety, embarrassing to the appetite, and perplexing 
to the choice. 

Yerily, the thought must often occur that the vegetarian 
doctrine preached in America leaves a man quite as much as 
he has capacity to eat or enjoy, and that in the midst of 
such tantalizing abundance he has really lost the apology, 
which elsewhere bears him out in preying upon his less gifted * 
and accomplished animal neighbors. 

But with all this, the American table, taken as a whole, 
is inferior to that of England or France. It presents a fine 
abundance of material, carelessly and poorly treated. The 
management of food is nowhere in the world, perhaps, 
more slovenly and wasteful. Every thing betokens that want 
of care that waits on abundance ; there are great capabili- 
ties and poor execution. A tourist through England can 
seldom fail, at the quietest country-inn, of finding himself 
served with the essentials of English table-comfort — his 
mutton-chop done to a turn, his steaming little private appa- 
ratus for concocting his own tea, his choice pot of marmalade 
or slice of cold ham, and his delicate rolls and creamy but- 
ter, all served with care and neatness. In France, one never 
asks in vain for delicious cafe-au-lait^ good bread and but- 
ter, a nice omelet, or some savory little portion of meat with 
a French name. But to a toui^st taking like chance in 
American country-fare, what is the prospect? What is the 
coffee? what the tea? and the meat? and above all, the 
butter? ^ . 

In writing on cooking, the main topics should be first, 
bread ; second, butter ; third, meat ; fourth, vegetables ; 
and fiith, tea — by which last is meant, generically, all sorts 
of warm, comfortable drinks served out in tea-cups, whether 
they be called tea, coffee, chocolate, broma, or what not. 

If these fiYQ departments are all perfect, the great ends 
of domestic cookery are answered, so far as the comfort 



150 TEE FIVE DEPARTMENTS OF COOKERY. 



and well-being of life are concerned. There exists another 
department, which is often regarded by culinary amateurs 
and young aspirants as the higher branch and very collegi- 
ate course of practical cookery ; to wit, confectionery, by 
which is designated all pleasing and complicated compounds 
of sweets and spices, devised not for health and nourish- 
ment, and strongly suspected of interfering with both — 
mere tolerated gratifications of the palate, which we eat, 
not with the expectation of being benefited, but only with 
the hope of not being injured by them. In this large de- 
partment rank all sorts of cakes, pies, preserves, etc., whose 
excellence is often attained by treading under foot and dis- 
regarding the ^YQ grand essentials. 

There is many a table garnished with three or four 
kinds of well-made cake, compounded with citron and 
spices and all imaginable good • things,- where the meat 
was tough and greasy, the bread some hot preparation 
of flour, lard, saleratus, and' acid, and the butter un- 
utterably detestable, where, if the mistress of the feast 
had given the care, time, and labor to preparing the 
simple items of bread, butter, and meat, that she evi- 
dently had given to the preparation of these extras, the lot 
of her guests and family might be much more comfortable. 
But she does not think of these common articles as consti- 
tuting a good table. So long as she has puff pastry, rich 
black cake, clear jelly and preserves, she considers that 
such unimportant matters as bread, butter, and meat may 
take care of themselves. It is the same inattention to com- 
mon things as that which leads people to build houses with 
stone fronts, and window-caps and expensive front-door 
trimmings, without bathing-rooms or fireplaces, or venti- 
lators. 

Those who go into the country looking for summer board 
in farm-houses know per'Tectly well that a table where the 
butter is always fresh, the tea and cofifee of the best kinds and 
well made, and the meats properly kept, dressed, and sers^ed, 
is the one table of a hundred, the fabulous enchanted island. 
It seems impossible to get the idea into the minds of many 
people that what is called common food, carefully prepared, 
becomes, in virtue of that very care and attention, a delicacy, 
superseding the necessity of artificially compounded dainties. 

To begin, then, with the very foundation of a good table 
— Bread : What ought it to be ? 



BEE AD: ITS AERATION. 151 



It should be ligtit, sweet, and tender. This matter 
of lightness is the distinctive line between savage and 
civilized bread. The savage mixes simple flonf and wa- 
ter into balls of paste, which he throws into boiling 
water, and which come ont solid, glutinous masses, of which 
his common saying is, " Man eat dis, he no die," which a 
facetious traveler who was obliged to subsist on it inter- 
preted to mean, " Dis no kill you, nothing will." In short, 
it requires the stomach of a wild animal or of a savage to 
digest this primitive form of bread, and of course more or 
less attention in all civilized modes of bread-making is giv- 
en to producing lightness. By lightness is meant simply 
that in order to facilitate digestion the particles are to be 
separated from each other by little holes or air-cells ; and 
all the different methods of making light bread are neither 
more nor less than the formation of bread with these air- 
cells. 

So far as we know, there are f om' practicable methods of 
aerating bread ; namely, by fermentation ; -by effervescence, 
of an acid and an alkali ; by aerated egg, or egg which has 
been filled with air by the process of beating ; and lastly, 
by pressure of some gaseous substance into the paste, by a 
process much resembling the impregnation of water in a 
soda-fountain. All these have one and the same object — 
to give us the cooked particles of our flour separated by 
such permanent air-cells as will enable the stomach more 
readily to digest them. 

A very common mode of aerating, bread in America is 
by the effervescence of an acid and an alkali in the flour. 
The carbonic acid gas thus formed produces minute air- 
cells in the bread, or, as the cook says, makes it light. 
When this process is performed with exact attention to 
chemical laws, so that the acid and alkali completely neu- 
tralize each other, leaving no overplus of either, the result 
is often very palatable. The difficulty is, that this is a hap- 
py conjunction of circumstances which seldom occurs. The 
acid most commonly employed is that of sour milk, and, as 
milk has many degrees of sourness, the rule of a certain 
quantity of alkali to the pint must necessarily produce 
very different results at different times. As an actual fact 
where this mode of making bread prevails, as we lament to 
.say it does to a great extent in this country, one finds five 
cases of failure to one of success. 



152 YEAST— EFFEB YE8CENCE-FEBMENTA TION. 



It is a woeful thicg that the daughters of our land have 
abandoned the old respectable mode of yeast-brewing and " 
bread-raising for this specious substitute, so easily made, 
and so seldom well made. The green, clammy, acrid sub- 
stance, called biscuit, which many of our worthy republi- 
cans are obliged to eat in these days, is wholly unworthy of 
^ the men and women of the republic. Good patriots ought 
not to be put off in that way — they deserve better fare. 

As an occasional variety, as a household convenience for 
obtaining bread or biscuit at a moment's notice, the process 
of effervescence may be retained ; but we earnestly entreat 
American housekeepers, in scriptural language, to stand in 
the way and ask for the old paths, and return to the good 
yeast-bread of their sainted grandmothers. 

If acid and alkali must be used, by all means let them 
be mixed in due proportions. ISTo cook should be left to 
guess and judge for herself about this matter. There are 
articles made by chemical rule which produce very perfect 
results, and the use of them obviates the worst dangers in 
making bread by effervescence. 

Of all processes of aeration in bread-making, the oldest 
and most time-honored mode is by fermentation. That 
this was known in the days of our Saviour is evident from 
the forcible simile in which he compares the silent perme- 
ating force of truth in human society to the very familiar 
household process of raising bread by a little yeast. 

There is, however, one species of yeast, much used in 
some parts of the country, against which protest should be 
made. It is called salt-risings, or milk-risings, and is made 
by mixing flour, milk, and a little salt together, and leaving 
them to ferment. The bread thus produced is often very 
attractive, when new and made with great care. ' It is white 
and delicate, with fine, even air-cells. It has, however, 
when kept, some characteristics which remind us of the 
terms in which our old English Bible describes the effect 
of keeping the manna of the ancient Israelites, which we 
are informed, in words more explicit than agreeable, " stank, 
and bred worms." If salt-rising bread does not fulfill the ' 
whole of this unpleasant description, it certainly does em- 
phatically a part of it. The smell which it has in baking, 
and when more than a day old, suggests the inquiry, 
whether it is the saccharine or the putrid fermentation with 
which it is raised. Whoever breaks a piece of it after a 



IMPOBTANCE OF CARE AND PBOMPTNESS. 153 



day or two, will often see minute filaments or clammy strings 
drawing out from the fragments, which, with the unmis- 
takable smell, will cause him to pause before consummat- 
ing a nearer acquaintance. 

The fermentation of flour by means of brewer's or dis- 
tiller's yeast produces, if rightly managed, results far more 
palatable and wholesome. The only requisites for success 
in it are, first, good materials, and, second, great care in 
small things. There are certain low-priced or damaged 
kinds of fiour which can never by any kind of domestic 
chemistry be made into good bread ; and to those persons 
whose stomachs forbid them to eat gummy, glutinous paste, 
under the name of bread, there is no economy in buying 
these poor brands, even at half the price of good flour. 

But good flour and good yeast being supposed, with a 
temperature favorable to the development of fermentation, 
the whole success of the process depends on the thorough 
diffusion of the proper proportion of yeast through the 
whole mass, and on stopping the subsequent fermentation 
at the precise and fortunate point. The true housewife 
makes her bread the sovereign of her kitchen — its behests 
must be attended to in all critical points and moments, no 
matter what else be postponed. 

She who attends to her bread only when she has done this, 
and arranged that, and performed the other, very often 
finds that the forces of nature will not wait for her. The 
snowy mass, perfectly mixed, kneaded with care and 
strength, rises in its beautiful perfection till the moment 
comes for filling the air- cells by baking. A few minutes now, 
and the acetous fermentation will begin, and the whole result 
be spoiled. Many bread-makers pass in utter carelessness 
over this sacred and mysterious boundary. Their oven has 
cake in it, or they are skimming jelly, or attending to some 
other of the so-called higher branches, of cooker}^, while the 
bread is quickly passing into the acetous stage. At last, 
when they are ready to attend to it, they find that it has 
been going its own way — it is so sour that the pungent 
smell is plainly perceptible. ITow the saleratus-bottle is 
handed down, and a quantity of the dissolved alkali mixed 
with the paste — an expedient sometimes making itself too 
manifest by greenish streaks or small acrid spots in the 
bread. As the result, we have a beautiful article spoiled 
— bread without sweetness, if not absolutely sour. 



154 ACCUBACY IN BAKING, 



In the view of many, lightness is the only property re- 
quired in this article. The delicate refined sweetness which 
exists in carefully kneaded bread, baked just before it 
passes to the extreme point of fermentation, is something 
of which they have no conception ; and thus they will even 
regard this process of spoiling the paste by the acetous fer- 
mentation, and then rectifying that acid by effervescence 
with an alkali, as something positively meritorious. How 
else can they value and relish bakers' loaves, such as some 
are, drugged with ammonia and other disagreeable things ; 
light indeed, so light that they seem to have neither weight 
nor substance, but with no more sweetness or taste than so 
much cotton wool ? 

Some persons prepare bread for the oven by simply mix- 
ing it in the mass, without kneading, pouring it into pans, 
and suffering it to rise there. The air-cells in bread thus 
prepared are coarse and uneven ; the bread is as inferior in 
delicacy and nicety to that which is well kneaded as a raw 
servant to a perfectly educated and refined lady. The pro- 
cess of kneading seems to impart an evenness to the minute 
air-cells, a fineness of texture, and a tenderness and plia- 
bility to the whole substance, that can be gained in no other 
way. 

The divine principle of beauty has its reign over bread 
as well as over all other things ; it has its laws of sesthetics ; 
and that bread which is so prepared that it can be formed 
into separate and well-proportioned loaves, each one care- 
fully worked and moulded, will develop the most beautiful 
resiilts. After being moulded, the loaves should stand usually 
not over ten minutes, just long enough to allow the fermenta- 
tion going on in them to expand each little air-cell to the 
point at which it stood before it was worked down, and then 
they should be immediately put into the oven. 

Many a good thing, however, is spoiled in the. oven. We 
can not but regret, for the sake of bread, that our old 
steady brick ovens have been almost universally superseded 
by those of ranges and cooking-stoves, which are infinite iu 
their caprices, and forbid all general rules. One thing, 
however, may be borne in mind as a principle — that the 
' excellence of bread in all its varieties, plain or sweetened, 
depends on the perfection of its air-cells, whether loroduced 
by yeast, Qg,g^ or effervescence; that one of the objects of 
baking is to fix these air-cells, and that the quicker this can 



SECOND DEPARTMENT : BUT TEE. 155 



. be done through the whole mass, the better will the result 
be. When cake or bread is made heavy by baking too 
quickly, it is because the immediate formation of the top 
crust hinders the exhaling of the moisture in the centre, 
and prevents the air-cells from cooking. The weight also 
of the crust pressing down on the doughy air-cells below de- 
stroys them, producing that horror of good cooks, a heavy 
streak. The problem in baking, then, is the quick applica- 
tion of heat rather below than above the loaf, and its steady 
continuance till all the air-cells are thoroughly dried intd 
permanent consistency. Every housewife must watch her 
own oven to know how this can be best accomplished. 

Bread-making can be cultivated to any extent- as a fine 
art — and the various kinds of biscuit, tea-rusks, twists, 
rolls, into which bread may be made, are much better worth 
a housekeeper's ambition than the getting-up of rich and 
expensive cake or confections. There are also varieties of 
material which are rich in good effects. Unbolted flour, 
altogether more wholesome than the fine wheat, and when 
properly .prepared more palatable — rye-fiour and corn-meal, 
each affording a thousand attractive possibilities — all of 
these come under the general laws of bread-stuffs, and are 
worth a careful attention. 

A peculiarity of our American table, particularly in the 
Southern and Western States, is the constant exhibition of 
varioiis preparations of hot bread. In many families of the 
South and West, bread in loaves to be eaten cold is an ar- 
ticle quite unknown. The effect of this kind of diet upon 
the health has formed a frequent subject of remark among 
travelers ; but only those know the full mischiefs of it who 
have been compelled to sojourn for a length of time in 
families where it is maintained. The unknown horrors of 
dyspepsia from bad bread are a topic over which" we will- 
ingly draw a vail. 

iSText to Bread comes Butter — on which we have to say, 
that, when we remember what butter is in civilized Europe, 
and compare it with what it is in America, we wonder at 
the forbearance and lenity of travelers in their strictures on 
our national commissariat. 

Butter, in England, France, and Italy, is simply solidified 
cream, with all the sweetness of the cream in its taste, fresh- 
ly churned each day, and unadulterated by salt. At the 
present moment, when salt is ^yq cents a pound and butter 



156 CHAEACTEBISTIC8 OF GOOD AND BAD BUTTEB. 



fiftj, we Americans are paying, at high prices, for about one 
pound of salt to every ten of butter, and those of us who 
nave eaten the butter of France and England do this with 
rueful recollections. 

There- is, it is true, an article of butter made in the 
American style with salt, which, in its own kind and way, 
has a merit not inferior to that of England and France. 
Many prefer it, and it certainly takes a rank equally respect- 
able with the other. It is yellow, hard, and worked so 
perfectly free from every particle of buttermilk that it 
might make the voyage of the world without spoiling. It 
is salted, but salted with care and delicacy, so that it may 
be a question whether even a fastidious Englishman might 
not prefer its golden solidity to the white, creamy freshness 
of his own. But it is to be regretted that this article is the 
exception, and not the rule, on our tables. 

America must have the credit of manufacturing and put- 
ting into market more bad butter than all that is made in 
all the rest of the world together. The varieties of bad 
tastes and smells which prevail in it are quite a study. 
This has a cheesy taste, that a mouldy, this is flavored with 
cabbage, and that again with turnip, and another has the 
strong, sharp savor of rancid animal fat. These varieties 
probably come from the practice of churning only at long 
intervals, and keeping the cream meanwhile in un ventilated 
cellars or dairies, the air of which is loaded with the' efflu- 
via of vegetable substances. No domestic articles are so 
sympathetic as those of the milk tribe : they readily take 
on the smell and taste of any neighboring substance, and 
hence the infinite variety of flavors on which one mournful- 
ly muses who has late in autumn to taste twenty firkins of 
butter in hopes of finding one which will simply not be in- 
tolerable on his winter table. 

A matter for despair as regards bad butter is, that at the 
tables where it is used it stands sentinel at the door to bar 
your way to every other kind of food. You turn from your 
dreadful half -slice of bread, which fills your mouth with 
bitterness, to your beef-steak, which proves virulent with 
the same poison ; you think to take refuge in vegetable diet, 
and find the butter in the string-beans, and polluting the in- 
nocence of early peas ; it is in the corn, in the succotash, in 
the squash ; the beets swim in it, the onions have it poured 
over them. Hungry and miserable, you think to solace 



\ 




THIRD BEPAETMENT: MEAT. 

yourself at the dessert ; but the pastry is cnrstd, the ca'ke is 
acrid with the same plague. You are ready to howl with 
despair, and your misery is great upon you — especially if 
this is a table where you have taken board for three mcmths 
with your delicate w^ife and four small children. Your case 
is dreadful, and it is hopeless, because long us^ge and liabit 
have rendered your host perfectly incapable o: discovering 
what is the matter. " Don't like the butter, sir \ I aissure 
you I j)aid an extra price for it, and it's the veiy best in the 
market. I looked over as many as a hundred tubs, and 
picked out this one." You are dumb, but not less despair- 
ing. 

Yet the process of making good butter is a very simple 
one. To keep the cream in a perfectly pm*e, cool atmo- 
sphere, to churn while it is yet sweet, to work out the but- 
termilk thoroughly, and to add salt with such discretion as 
not to ruin the fine, delicate flavor of the fresh .cream— all 
this is quite simple, so simple that one wonders at thousands 
and millions of pounds of butter yeaily manufactured 
which are merely a hobgoblin bewitchment of creain into 
foul and loathsome poisons. 

The third head of my discourse is that of Meat, of which 
America furnishes, in the gross material, enough to spread 
our tables royally, were it well cared for and served. 

The faults in the meat generally furnished to us are, first, 
that it is too new. A beef steak, which three or four , days 
of keeping might render palatable, is served up to us palj^J- 
tating with freshness, with all the toughness of animal mus- 
cle yet warm. 

In the next place, there is a woeful lack of nicety in the 
butcher's work of cutting and preparing meat. Who that 
remembers the neatly trimmed mutton-chop of an English 
inn, or the artistic little circle of lamb-chop fried in bread- 
crumbs coiled around a tempting centre of spinach which 
niay always be found in France, can recognize any family 
resemblance to those dapper, civilized preparations, in these 
coarse, roughly -hacked strips of bone, gristle, and meat 
which are commonly called mutton-chop in America? 
There seems to be a large dish of something resembling 
meat, in which each fragment has about two or three edible 
morsels, the rest being composed of dry and burnt skin, fat, 
and ragged bone. 

Is it not. time that civilization should learn to demand 



158 



BAD BUTCEEB'S WORK. 



soml^what more care and nicety in the modes of preparing 
what is to be cooked and eaten ? . Might not some of the re- 
finerinent and trimness which characterize the preparations 
of tlii^e Enrojean market be with advantage introduced into 
our C)wn ? The housekeeper who wishes to garnish her ta- 
ble with sorre of those nice things is stopped in the outset 
by the butcher. Except in our large cities, where some for- 
eign travel may have created the demand, it seems. impossi- 
ble t!o get much in this line that is properly prepared. 

If this is r.rged on the score of sesthetics, the ready reply 
will be, " Oh ! we can't give time here in America to go into 
niceties and French whim-whams !" But the French mode 
of doing almost all practical things is based on that true 
philosophy and utilitarian good sense which characterize 
that seemingly thoughtless people. Nowhere is economy a 
more careful study, and their market is artistically arranged 
to this end. The rule is so to cut their meats that no por- 
tion designed to be cooked in a certain manner shall have 
wasteful appendages which that mode of cooking will spoil. 
The French soup-kettle stands ever ready to receive the 
bones, the thin fibrous flaps, the sinewy and gristly portions, 
which are so often included in our roasts or broilings, which 
fill our plates with unsightly debris^ and finally make an 
amount of blank waste for which we pay our butcher the 
same price that we pay for what we have eaten. 

Tl'ie dead waste of our clumsy, coarse way of cutting 
meats is immense. For example, at the beginning of the 
season, the part of a lamb denominated leg and loin, or 
hind- quarter, may sell for thirty cents a pound. E^ow this 
includes, besides the thick, 'fleshy portions, a quantity of 
bone, sinew, and thin fil)rous substance, constituting full 
one third of the whole weight. If we put it into the oven 
entire, in the usual manner, we have the thin parts over- 
done, and the skinny and fibrous parts utterly dried up, by 
the application of the amount of heat necessary to cook 
the thick portion. Supposing the joint to weigh six pounds, 
at thirty cents, and that one third of the weight is so treat- 
ed as to become perfectly useless, we throw away sixty 
cents. Of a piece of beef at twenty-five cents a. pound, 
fifty cents' worth is often lost in bone, fat, and burnt skin. 

The fact is, this way of selling and cooking meat in 
large, gross portions is of English origin, and belongs to a 
country where all the customs of society spring from a class 



FBENCH BUT CEEB'S WORK. ]59 



wlio have no particular occasion for economy. Tlie prac- 
tice of minute and delicate division comes from a nation 
wMcli acknowledges the need of economy, and has made it 
a study. A quarter of lamb in this mode of division would 
be sold in three nicely prepared portions. The thick part 
would be sold by itself, for a neat, compact little roast : 
the rib-bones would be artistically separated, and all the 
edible matter would form those delicate dishes of lamb- 
chop, which, fried in bread-crumbs to a' golden brown, 
are so ornamental and palatable a side-dish ; the trimmings 
which remain after this division -would be destined to the 
soup-kettle or stew-pan. 

In a French market is a little portion for every purse, 
and "the far-famed and delicately flavored soups and stews 
which have arisen out of French economy are a study worth 
a housekeeper's attention. J^ot one atom of food is wasted 
in the French modes of preparation; even tough animal 
cartilages and sinews, instead of appearing burned and 
blackened in company with the roast meat to which they 
happen to be related, are treated according to their own 
laws, and come out either in savory soups, or those fine, 
clear meat-jellies which form a garnish no less agreeable to 
the eye than palatable to the taste. 

Whether this careful, economical, practical style of meat- 
cooking can ever to any great extent be introduced into our 
kitchens now is a question. Our butchers are against it ; 
our servants are wedded to the old wholesale wasteful ways, 
which seem to them easier because they are accustomed to 
them. A cook who will keep and properly tend a soup- 
kettle which shall receive and utilize all that the coarse 
preparations of the butcher would require her to trim away, 
who understands the art of making the most of all these 
remains, is a treasure scarcely to be hoped for. If such 
things are to be done, it must be primarily through the 
educated brain of cultivated women who do not scorn to 
turn their culture and refinement upon domestic ])roblems. 

"When meats have been properly divided, so that each 
portion can receive its own appropriate style of treatment, 
next comes the consideration of the modes of cooking. 
These may be divided into two great general classes : those 
where it is desired to keep the juices within the meat, as in 
baking, broiling, and frying — and those whose object is to 
extract the juice and dissolve the fibre, as in the making 



160 DANGERS AND BENEFITS OF THE FBYING-PAN. 



of soups and stews. In the first class of operations, tlie 
process must be as rapid as may consist with the thorough 
cooking of all the particles. In this branch of cookery, 
, doing quickly is doing well. The fire must be brisk, the 
attention alert. The introduction of cooking- stoves offers 
to careless domestics facilities for gradually drying-up 
meats, and despoiling them of all flavor and nutriment — 
facilities which appear to be very generally accepted. 
They have almost banished the genuine, old-fashioned 
roast-meat from our tables, and left in its stead dried meats 
with their most precious and nutritive juices evaporated. 
How few cooks, unassisted, are competent to the simple 
process of broiling a beefsteak or mutton-chop ! how very 
generally one has to choose between these meats gradually 
dried away, or burned on the outside and raw within ! 
Yet in England these articles never come on the table done 
amiss ; their perfect cooking is as absolute a certainty as the 
rising of the sun. 

No one of these rapid processes of cooking, however, is 
so generally abused as frying. The frying-pan has awful 
sins to answer for. What untold horrors of dyspepsia have 
arisen from its smoky depths, like the ghost from witches' 
caldrons ! The fizzle of frying meat is a warning knell on 
many an ear, saying, " Touch not, taste not, if you would 
not burn and writhe !" 

Yet those who have traveled abroad remember that 
some of the lightest, most palatable, and most digestible 
preparations of meat have come from this dangerous 
source. But we fancy quite other rites and ceremonies 
inaugurated the process, and quite other hands performed 
its offices, than those known to our kitchens. Probably the 
delicate cotelettes of France are not flopped down into half- 
melted grease, there gradually to warm and soak and fizzle, 
while Biddy goes in and out on her other ministrations, till 
finally, when they are thoroughly saturated, and dinner -hour 
impends, she bethinks herself, and crowds the fire below to 
a roaring heat, and finishes the process by a smart burn, in- 
volving the kitchen and surrounding precincts in volumes 
of Stygian gloom. From such preparations has arisen the 
very current medical opinion that fried meats are indigesti- 
ble. They are indigestible, if they are greasy ; but French 
cooks have taught us that a thing has no more need to 
be greasy because emerging from grease than Yenus had 
to be salt because she rose from the sea. 



SOUPS AND STEWS. 101 



There are two ways of frying employed by the French 
cook. One is, to immerse the article to be cooked in hoil- 
ing fat, with an emphasis on the present participle — and 
the philosophical principle is, so immediately to crisp every 
pore, at the first moment or two of immersion, as effectually 
to seal the interior against tlie intrusion of greasy particles ; 
it can then remain as long as may be necessary thoroughly 
to cook it, without imbibing any more of the boiling fluid 
than if it were inclosed in an egg-shell. The other method 
is to rub a perfectly smooth iron surface with just enough 
of some oily substance to prevent the mxcat from adhering, 
and cook it with a quick heat, as cakes are baked on a 
griddle. In both these cases there must be the most rapid 
application of heat that can be made without burning, and 
by the adroitness shown in working out this problem the 
skill of the cook is tested. Any one whose cook attains 
this important secret will find fried things quite as digestible, 
and often more palatable, than any other. 

In the second department of meat-cookery, to wit, the 
slow and gradual application of heat for the softening and 
dissolution of its fibre and the extraction of its juices, 
common cooks are equally untrained. Where is the so- 
called cook who understands how to prepare soups and 
stews? These are precisely the articles in which a 
French kitchen excels. The soup-kettle, made with a 
double bottom, to prevent burning, is a permanent, ever- 
present institution, and the coarsest and most impracticable 
meats distilled through that alembic come out again in soups, 
jellies, or savory stews. The toughest cartilage, even the 
bones, being first cracked, are here made to give forth their 
hidden virtues, and to rise in delicate and appetizing forms. 

One great law governs all these preparations : the appli- 
cation of heat must be gradual, steady, long protracted, 
never reaching the point? of active boiling. Hours of quiet 
simmering dissolve all dissoluble parts, soften the sternest 
fibre, and unlock every minute cell in which ]N^ature has. 
stored away her treasures of nourishment. This careful 
and protracted application of heat and the skillful use of 
flavors constitute the two main points in all those nice 
preparations of meat for which the French have so many 
names — iprocesses by which a delicacy can be imparted to 
the coarsest and cheapest food superior to that of the finest 
articles under less philosophic treatment. 

French soups and stews are a study, and they would 



162 S0UP-8T0CK. 



not be an unprofitable one to any person who wisbes to 
live Witb comfort and even elegance on small means. 

There is no animal fibre that will not yield itself up to long- 
continued, steady heat. But the difficulty with almost any 
of the common servants who call themselves cooks is, that 
they have not the smallest notion of the philosophy of the 
application of heat. Such a one will complacently tell you 
concerning certain meats, that the harder you boil them the 
harder they grow — an obvious fact which, under her mode 
of treatment by an indiscriminate galloping boil, has fre- 
quently come under her personal observation. If you tell 
her that such meat must stand for six hours in a heat just 
below the boiling point, she will probably answer, " Yes, 
ma'am," and go on her own way. Or she will let it stand 
till it burns to the bottom of the kettle — a most common 
termination of the experiment. 

The only way to make sure of the matter is-, either to ob- 
tain a French kettle, or to fit into an ordinary kettle a false 
bottom, such as any tinman may make, that shall leave a 
space of an inch or two between the meat and the fire. 
This kettle may be maintained iii a constant position on 
the range, and into it the cook may be instructed to throw 
all the fibrous trimmings of meat, all the gristle, tendons, 
and bones, having previously broken up these last with a 
mallet. Such a kettle, the regular occupant of a French 
cooking-stove, which they call the pot ait feu^ will furnish 
the basis for clear, rich soups, or other palatable dishes. This 
is ordinarily called " stock." 

Clear soup consists of the dissolved juices of the meat 
and gelatine of the bones, cleared from the fat and fibrous 
portions by straining. The grease, which rises to the top of 
the fluid, may be easily removed when cold. 

English and American soups are often heavy and hot 
with spices. There are appreciable tastes in them. They 
burn your mouth with cayenne, or clove, or allspice. You 
can tell at once what is in them, oftentimes to your sorrow. 
But a French soup has a flavor which one recognizes at 
once as delicious, yet not to be characterized as due to any 
single condiment ; it is the just blending of many things. 
The same remark applies to all their stews, ragouts, 
and other delicate preparations. J^o cook will ever study 
these flavors ; but perhaps many cooks' mistresses may, 
and thus be able to impart delicacy and comfort to 
economy. 



FOJJBTH DEPAETMENT— VEGETABLES. 163 



As to those tilings called hashes, commonly mannfac- 
tm"ed by nnwatched, nntanght cooks ont of the remains of 
yesterday's meal, let ns not dwell too closely on their mem- 
ory — compounds of meat, gristle, skin, fat, and burnt fibre, 
with a handful of pepper and salt flung at them, dredged 
with lumpy flour, watered from the spout of the tea-kettle, 
and left to simmer at the cook's convenience while she is 
otherwise occupied. Such are the best performances a 
housekeeper can hope for from an untrained cook. 

But the cunningly devised minces, the artful preparations 
choicely flavored, which may be made of yesterday's repast 
—by these is the true domestic artist known, l^o cook un- 
taught by an educated brain ever makes these, and yet 
economy is a great gainer by them. 

As regards the department of Yegetcibles^ their number 
and variety in America are so great that a table might al- 
most be furnished by these alone. Generally speaking, 
their cooking is a more simple art, and therefore more like- 
ly to be found satisfactorily performed, than that of meats. 
If only they are not drenched with rancid butter, their own 
native excellence makes itself known in most of the ordi- 
na;ry modes of preparation. 

There is, however, one exception. Our staunch old 
friend, the potato, is to other vegetables what bread is on 
the table. Like bread, it is held as a sort of sine-qua-non j 
like that, it may be made invariably palatable by a little 
care in a few plain particulars, through neglect of which 
it often becomes intolerable. The soggy, waxy, indigesti- 
ble viand that often appears in the potato-dish is a down- 
right sacrifice of the better nature of this vegetable. 

The potato, nutritive and harmless as it appears, belongs 
to a family suspected of very dangerous traits. It is a 
family connection of the deadly-nightshade and other ill-re- 
puted gentry, and sometimes shows strange proclivities to 
evil — now breaking out uproariously, as in the noted pota- 
to-rot, and now more covertly, in various evil affections. 
For this reason scientific directors bid us beware of the wa- 
ter in which potatoes are boiled^into which, it appears, the 
evil principle is drawn off; and they caution us not to shred 
them into stews without previously suffering the slices to lie 
for an hour or so in salt and water. . These cautions are 
worth attention. 

The most usual modes of preparing the potato for the ta- 
ble are by roasting or boiling. These processes are so sim- 



164 . BOAST, BOILED, FBIED POTATOES. 



pie that it is commonly snpposed every cook understands 
them without special directions ; and yet there is scarcely 
an uninstructed cook who can boil or roast a potato. 

A good roasted potato is a delicacy worth a dozen com- 
positions of the cook-book ; yet when we ask for it, what 
burnt, shriveled abortions are presented to us ! Biddy 
rushes to her potato-basket and pours out two dozen of dif- 
ferent sizes, some having in them three times the amount of 
matter of others. These being washed, she tumbles them 
into her oven at a leisure interval, and there lets them lie till 
it is time to serve breakfast, whenever that may be. As a 
result, if the largest are cooked, the smallest are presented 
in cinders, and the intermediate sizes are withered and wa- 
tery. ISTothing-is so utterly ruined by a few moments of 
overdoing. That which at the right moment was plump 
with mealy richness, a quarter of an hour later shrivels 
and becomes watery — and it is in this state that roast pota- 
toes are most frequently served. 

In the same manner we have seen boiled potatoes from 
an untaught cook coming upon the table like lumps of yel- 
low wax — and the same article, under the directions of a 
skillful mistress, appearing in snowy balls of powdery white- 
ness. ' In the one case, they were thrown in their skins into 
water, and suffered to soak or boil, as the case might be, at 
the cook's leisure, and after they were boiled to stand in 
the water till she was ready to peel them. In the other 
case, the potatoes being first peeled were boiled as quickly 
as possible in salted water, which the moment they were 
done was drained off, and then they were gently shaken 
for a moment or two over the fire to, dry them still more 
thoroughly. We have never yet seen the potato so de- 
praved and given over to evil that it could not be reclaimed 
by this mode of treatment. 

As to fried potatoes, who that remembers the crisp, gold- 
en slices of the French restaurant, thin as wafers and light 
as snow-flakes, does not speak respectfully of them ? What 
cousinship with these have those coarse, greasy masses of 
sliced potato, wholly soggy and partly burnt, to which we 
are treated under the name of fried potatoes in America? 
In our cities the restaurants are introducing the French 
article to great acceptance, and to the vindication of the 
fair fame of this queen of vegetables. 

Finally, we arrive at the last great head of our subject, 
to wit — Tea — meaning thereby, as before observed, what 



FIFTH DEPARTMENT— TEA, COFFEE. 165 



our Hibernian friend did in the inquiry, "Will y'r honor 
take ' tay tay ' or coffee tay ?" 

We are not about to enter into the merits of the great 
tea-and-coffee controyersy, further than in our general cau- 
tion concerning them in the chapter on Healthful Drinks ; 
but we now proceed to treat of them as actual existences, 
and speak only of the modes of making the best of them. 

The French coffee is reputed the best in the world ; and 
a thousand voices have asked, What is it about the French 
coffee ? 

In the first place, then, the French coffee is coffee, and 
not chickory, or rye, or beans, or peas. In the second 
place, it is freshly roasted, whenever made — roasted with 
great care and evenness in a little revolving cylinder which 
makes part of the furnitm'e of every kitchen, and which 
keeps in the aroma of the berry. It is never overdone, so 
as to destroy the coffee-flavor, which is in nine cases out of 
ten the fault of the coffee we meet with. Then it is ground, 
and placed in a coffee-pot with a filter through which, when 
it has yielded up its life to the boiling water poured upon 
it, the delicious extract percolates in clear drops, the coffee- 
pot standing on a heated stove to maintain the temperature. 
The nose of the coffee-pot is stopped up to prevent the es- 
cape of the aroma dm'ing this process. The extract thus 
obtained is a perfectly clear, dark fluid, known as caftnoir^ 
or black coffee. It is black only because of its strength, 
being in fact almost the very essential oil of coffee. A ta- 
ble-spoonful of this in boiled milk would make what is or- 
dinarily called a strong cup of coffee. The boiled milk is 
prepared with no less care. It must be fresh and new, not 
merely warmed or even brought to the boiling-point, but 
slowly simmered till it attains a thick, creamy richness. The 
coffee mixed with this, and sweetened with that sparkling 
beet-root sugar which ornaments a French table, is the cele- 
brated cafe-au-lait^ the name of which has gone round the 
world. 

As Ave look to France for the best coffee, so we must look 
to England for the perfection of tea. The tea-kettle is as 
much an English institution as aristocracy or the Frayer- 
Book ; and when one wants to know exactly how tea should 
be made, one has only to ask how a fine old English house- 
keeper makes it. 

The first article of her faith is, that the water must not 
merely be hot, not merely have toiled a few moments since, 



166 CHOCOLATE— CONFECTIONERY. 



but be actually hoiling at the moment it touclies tbe tea. 
Hence, tliough servants in England are vastly better trained 
than with ns, this delicate mystery is seldom left to their 
hands. Tea-making belongs to the drawing-room, and high- 
born ladies ]3reside at " the bubbling and loud hissing urn," 
and see that all due rites and solemnities are properly per- 
formed — that the cup^ are hot, and that the infused tea 
waits the exact time before the libations commence. 

Of late, the introduction of English breakfast-tea has 
raised a new sect among the tea-drinkers, reversing some of 
the old- canons. Breakfast- tea must be boiled ! Unlike 
the delicate article of olden time, which required only a 
momentary infusion to develop its richness, this requires a 
longer and severer treatment to bring out its strength — 
thus confusing all the established usages, and throwing the 
work into the hands of the cook in the kitchen. The 
faults of tea, as too commonly found at our hotels and 
boarding-houses, are, that it is made in every way the 
reverse of what it should be. The water is hot, perhaps, 
but not boiling; the tea has a general flat, stale, smoky 
taste, devoid of life or spirit ; and it is served usually with 
thin milk, instead of cream. Cream is as essential to the 
richness of tea as of coffee. Lacking cream, boiled milk is 
better than cold. 

Chocolate is a French and Spanish article, and one sel- 
dom served on American tables. We in America, however, 
make an article every way equal to any which can be im- 
ported from Paris, and he who buys the best vanilla-choco- 
late may rest assured that no foreign land can furnish any 
thing better. A very Mch and delicious beverage may be 
made by dissolving this in milk, slowly boiled down after 
the French fashion. 

A word now under the head of Confectionery., meaning 
by this the whole range of ornamental cookery — or pastry, 
ices, jellies, preserves, etc. The art of making all these 
very perfectly is far better understood in America than the 
art of common cooking. There are more women who 
know how to make good cake than good bread — ^more who 
can furnish you with a good ice-cream than a well-cooked 
mutton-chop ; a fair charlotte-russe is easier to gain than 
a perfect cup of coffee ; and you shall find a sparkling 
jelly to your dessert where you sighed in vain for so sim- 
ple a luxury as a well-cooked potato. 



FRENCH AND ENGLISH CO OKEBT. 167 



Our fair countrywomen might rest upon their laurels in 
these higher fields, and turn their great energy and ingenu- 
ity to the study of essentials. To do common things per- 
fectly is far better worth our endeavor than to do uncom- 
mon things respectably. We Americans in many things as 
yet have been a little inclined to begin making our shirt at 
the ruffle ; but, nevertheless, when we set about it, we can 
make the shirt as nicely as any body ; it needs only that we 
turn our attention to it, resolved that, ruffle or no ruffle, 
the shirt we will have. 

A few words as to the prevalent ideas in respect to 
French cookery. Having heard much of it, with no very 
distinct idea of what it is, our people have somehow fallen 
into the notion that its forte lies in high spicing — and so 
. when our cooks put a great abundance of clove, mace, nut- 
meg, and cinnamon into their preparations, they fancy 
that they are growing, up to be French cooks. But the 
fact is, that the Americans and English are far more given 
to spicing than the French. Spices in our made dishes 
are abundant, and their taste is strongly pronounced. Liv- 
ing a year in France one forgets the taste of nutmeg, clove, 
and allspice, which abounds in so many dishes in Ameri- 
ca. The English and Americans deal in spices^ the French 
in flavors — flavors many and fine, imitating often in 
their delicacy those subtle blendings which nature pro- 
duces in high-fiavored fruits. The recipes of our cookery- 
books are most of them of English origin, coming down 
from the times of our phlegmatic ancestors, when the solid, 
burly, beefy growth of the foggy island required the heat 
of fiery condiments, and could digest heavy sweets. Wit- 
ness the national recipe for plum-pudding : which may be 
rendered : Take a pound of every indigestible substance 
you can think of, boil into a cannon-ball, and serve in 
flaming brandy. So of the Christmas mince-pie, and 
many other national dishes. But in America, owing to 
our brighter skies and more fervid climate, we have devel- 
oped an acute, nervous delicacy of temperament far more 
aiin to that of France than of England. 

Half of the recipes in our cook-books are mere murder 
to such constitutions and stomachs as we grow here. We 
require to ponder these things., and think how we, in our 
climate and under our circumstances, ought to live ; and in 
doing so, we may, without accusation of foreign foppery, 
take some leaves from many foreign books. 



XIY. 

EARLY KISIN^G. 

Theke is no practice which has been more extensively 
eulogized in all ages than early rising ; and this universal 
impression is an indication that it is founded on true philo- 
sophy. For it is rarely the case that the common sense of 
mankind fastens on a practice as really beneficial, especially 
one that demands self-denial, without some substantial 
reason. 

^ This practice, which may justly be called a domestic vir- 
tue, is one which has a peculiar claim to be styled American 
and democratic. The distinctive mark of aristocratic nations 
is a disregard of the great mass, and a disproportionate re 
gard for the interests of certain privileged orders. All the 
customs and habits of such a nation are, to a greater or less 
extent, regulated by this principle. l!^ow the mass of any 
nation must always consist of persons who labor at occupa- 
tions which demand the light of day. But in aristocratic 
countries, especially in England, labor is regarded as the 
mark of the lower classes, and indolence is considered as 
one mark of a gentleman. This impression has gradually 
and imperceptibly, to a great extent, regulated their cus 
toms, so that, even in their hours of meals and repose, the 
higher orders aim at being diiferent and distinct from those 
who, by laborious pursuits, are placed below them. From 
this circumstance, while the lower orders labor by day and 
sleep at night, the rich, the noble, and the honored sleep by 
day, and follow their pursuits and pleasures by night. 

It will be found that the aristocracy of London breakfast 
near midday, dine after dark, visit and go to Parliament be- 
tween ten and twelve at night, and retire to sleep toward 
morning. In consequence of this, the subordinate classes 
who aim at gentility gradually fall into the same practice. 
The influence of this custom extends across the ocean, and • 
here, in this democratic land, we find many who measure 



EARLY BISING CONBTJCIVE TO HEALTH. 169 



their grade of gentility by the late honr at which they arrive 
at a party. And this aristocratic folly is growing npon ns, 
so that, throughout the nation, the hours for visiting and 
retiring are constantly becoming later, while the hours for 
rising correspond in lateness. 

The question, then, is one which appeals to American 
women, as a matter of patriotism and as having a bearing on 
those great principles of democracy which we conceive to 
be equally the principles of Christianity. Shall we form 
our customs on the assumption that labor is degrading and 
indolence genteel ? Shall we assume, by our practice, that 
the interests of the great mass are to be sacrihced for the 
pleasures and honors of a privileged few ? Shall we ape the 
customs of aristocratic * lands, in those very practices which 
result from principles and institutions that we condemn? 
Shall we not rather take the place to which we are entitled, 
as the leaders, rather than the followers, in the customs of 
society, turnback the tide of aristocratic inroads, and carry 
through the whole, not only of civil and political but of 
social and domestic life, the true principles of democratic 
freedom and equality % The following considerations may 
serve to strengthen an affirmative decision. 

The first relates to the health of a family. It is a uni- 
versal law of physiology, that all living things flourish best 
in the light. Yegetables, in a dark cellar, grow pale and 
spindling. Children brought up in mines are always wan 
and stunted, while men become pale and cadaverous who 
live under ground. This indicates the folly of losing the 
genial influence which the light of day produces on all 
animated creation. 

Sir James Wylie, of the Russian imperial service, states 
that in the soldiers' barracks, three times as many were 
taken sick on the shaded side as on the sunny side ; though 
both sides communicated, and discipline, diet, and treatment 
were the same. The eminent French surgeon, Dupuytren, 
cured a lady whose complicated diseases baffled for years 
his own and all other medical skill, by taking her from a 
dark room to an abundance of daylight. 

Florence I^ightingale writes : " Second only to fresh air 
in importance for the sick is liglit. ISTot only daylight but 
direct sunlight is necessary to speedy recovery, except in a 
small number of cases. Instances, almost endless, could be 



170 SUN-LIGHT A GREAT INVIGOEATOB. 



•given where, in dark wards, or wards with only northern 
exposure, or wards with borrowed light, even when proper- 
ly ventilated, the sick could not be, by any means, made 
speedily to recover." 

In the prevalence of cholera, it was invariably the case 
that deaths were more numerous in shaded streets or in 
houses having only northern exposures than in those having 
sunlight. Several physicians have stated to the writer that, 
in sunny exposures, women after childbirth gained strength 
much faster than those excluded from sunlight. In the 
writer's experience, great nervous debility has been always 
immediately lessened by sitting in the sun, and still more by 
lying on the earth and in open air, a blanket beneath, and 
head and eyes protected, under the direct rays of the sun. 

Some facts in physiolo2^y and natural philosophy have a 
bearing on this subject. It seems to be settled that the red 
color of blood is owing to iron contained in the red blood- 
cells, while it is established as a fact that the sun's rays are 
metallic, having " vapor of iron " as one element. It is also 
true that want of light causes a diminution of the red and 
an increase of the imperfect white blood-cells, and that this 
sometimes results in a disease called lexicoemia^ while all 
who live in the dark have pale and waxy skins, and flabby, 
weak muscles. Thus it would seem that it is the sun that 
imparts the iron and color to the blood. These things be- 
ing so, the customs of society that bring sleeping hours into 
daylight, and working and study hours into the night, are 
direct violations of the laws of health. The laws of health 
are the laws of God, and " sin is the transgression of law." ' 

To this we must add the great neglect of economy as 
well as health in substituting unhealthful gaslight, poison- 
ous, anthracite Avarmth, for the life-giving light and warmth 
of the sun. Millions and millions would be saved to this 
nation in fuel and light,, as well as in health, by returning 
to the good old ways of our forefathers, to rise with the 
sun, and retire to rest "when the bell rings for nine 
o'clock." 

The observations of medical men, whose inquiries have 
been directed to this point, have decided that from six to 
eight hours is the amount of sleep demanded by persons in 
health. Some constitutions require as much as eight, and 
others no more than six hours of repose. But eight .hours 
is the maximum for all persons in ordinary health, with or- 



EXCESSIVE SLEEP DEBILITATING. \*Jl 



dinary occupations. In cases of extra physical exertions, 
or the debility of disease, or a . decayed constitution, more 
than this is required. Let eight hours, then, be regarded 
as the ordinary period required for sleep by an indus- 
trious people like the Americans. 

It thus appears that the laws of our political condition, 
the laws of the natural world, and the constitution of our 
bodies, alike demand that we rise with the light of day to 
prosecute our employments, and that we retire in time for 
the requisite amount of sleep. 

In regard to the eiFects of protracting the time spent in 
repose, many extensive and satisfactory investigations have 
been made. It has been shown that, during sleep, the body 
perspires most freely, while yet neither food nor exercise 
are ministering to its wants. Of course, if we continue our 
slumbers beyond the time required to restore the body to 
its usual vigor, there is an unperceived undermining of the 
constitution, by this protracted and debilitating exhalation. 
This process, in a course of years, renders the body deli- 
cate and less able to withstand disease, and in the result 
shortens life. Sir John Sinclair, who has written a large 
woirk on the Causes of Longevity, states, as one result of 
his extensive investigations, that he has never yet heard 
or read of a single case of great longevity where the indi- 
vidual was not an early riser. He says that he has found 
cases in which the individual has violated some one of all 
the other laws of health, and yet lived to great age ; but 
never a single instance in which any constitution has with- 
stood that undermining consequent on protracting the 
hours of repose beyond the "demands of the system. 

Another reason for early rising is, that it is indispensa- 
ble to a systematic and well-regulated family. At what- 
ever hour the parents retire, children and domestics, weari- 
ed by play or labor^ must retire early. Children usually 
awake with the dawn of light, and commence their play, 
while domestics usually prefer the freshness of morning for 
their labors. If, then, the parents rise at a late hour, they 
either induce a habit of protracting sleep in their children 
and domestics, or else the family are up, and at their pur- 
suits, while their supervisors are in bed. 

Any woman who asserts that her children and domestics, in 
the first hours of day, -when their spirits are freshest, will 
be as well regulated without her presence as with it, con- 



172 EAELT RISING HELPS THE WHOLE COMMUNITY. 



fesses tliat wliicli surely is little for her credit. It is be- 
lieved that any candid woman, whatever may be her ex- 
cuse for late rising, will concede that if she could rise early 
it would be for the advantage of her family. A late break- 
fast puts back the work, through the whole day, for every 
member of a family ; and if the parents thus occasion the 
loss of an hour or two to each individual who, but for 
their delay in the morning, would be usefully employed, 
they alone are responsible for all this waste of time. 

But the practice of early rising has a relation to the gene- 
ral interests of the social community, as well as to that of 
each distinct family. All that great portion of the com- 
munity who are employed in business and labor fjnd it 
needful to rise early; and all their hours of meals, and 
their appointments for business or pleasure, must be accom- 
modated to these arrangements, l^ow, if a small portion 
of the community establish very different hours, it makes 
a kind of jostling in all the concerns and interests of so- 
ciety. The various appointments for the public, such as 
meetings, schools, and business hours, must be accommodated 
to the mass, and not to individuals. The few, then, who 
establish domestic habits at variance with the majority, are 
either constantly interrupted in their own arrangements, or 
else are interfering with the rights and interests of others. 
This is exemplified in the case of schools. In families 
where late rising is practiced, either hiuTy, irregularity, 
and neglect are engendered in the family, or else the inte- 
rests of the school, and thus of the community, are sacri- 
ficed. In this, and many other matters, it can be shown 
that the well-being of the bulk of the people is, to a great- 
er or less extent, impaired by this self-indulgent practice. 
Let any teacher select the unpunctual scholars — a class who 
most seriously interfere with the interests of the school — 
and let men of business select those who cause them most 
waste of time and vexation, by unpunctuality ; and it will 
be found that they are generally among the late risers, 
and rarely among those who rise early. Thus, late rising 
not only injures the person and family which indulge in 
it, but interferes with the rights and convenience of the 
community ; while early rising imparts corresponding ben- 
efits of health, promptitude, vigor of action, economy of 
time, and general effectiveness both to the individuals who 
practice it and to the families and community of which 
they arc a part. 



XV. 

DOMESTIC MANNEES. 

Good ma:ni^ees are tlie expressions of benevolence in 
personal intercourse, by which we endeavor to promote the 
comfort and enjoyment of others, and to avoid all that gives 
needless uneasiness. It is the exterior exhibition of the di- 
vine precept, which requires us to do to others as we would 
that they should do to us. It is saying, by our deportment, 
to all around, that we consider their feelings, tastes, and 
conveniences, as equal in value to our own. 

Good manners lead us to avoid all practices which offend 
the taste of others ; all unnecessary violations of the con- 
ventional rules of propriety; all rude and disrespectful 
language and de|)ortment ; and all remarks which would 
tend to wound the feelings of others. 

There is a serious defect in the manners of the American 
people, especially among the descendants of the Puritan 
settlers of [N^ew-England, which can never be efficiently 
remedied, except in the domestic circle, and during early 
life. It is a deficiency in the free expression of kindly 
feelings and sympathetic emotions, and a want of courtesy 
in deportment. The causes which have led to this result 
may easily be traced. 

The forefathers of this nation, to a wide extent, were 
men who were driven from their native land by laws and 
customs which they believed to be opposed both to civil and 
religious freedom. The sufferings they were called to en- 
dure, the subduing of those gentler feelings which bind us 
to country, kindred, and home ; and the constant subordina- 
tion of the passions to stern principle, induced characters of 
great firmness and self-control. They gave up the comforts 
and refinements of a civilized country, and came as pilgrims 
to a hard soil, a cold clime, and a heathen shore. They 
were continually forced to encounter danger, privations, 
sickness, loneliness, and death ; and all these their religion 



174 WHY AMEBIGANS SEEM TO LACK COUBTEST. 



taught them to meet with calmness, fortitude, and submis- 
sion. And thus it became the custom and habit of the 
whole mass, to repress rather than to encourage the expres- 
sion of feeling. 

Persons who are called to constant and protracted suffer- 
ing and privation are forced to subdue and conceal emotion ; 
for the free expression of it would double their own suffer- 
ing, and increase the sufferings of others. Those, only, who 
are free from care and anxiety, and whose minds are mainly 
occupied by cheerful emotions, are at full liberty to unvail 
their feelings. 

It was under such stern and rigorous discipline that the 
first children in New-England were reared ; and the man- 
ners and habits of parents are usually, to a great extent, 
transmitted to children. Thus it comes to pass, that the 
descendants of the Puritans, now scattered over every part 
of the nation, are predisposed to conceal the gentler emo- 
tions, while their manners are calm, decided, and cold, 
rather than free and impulsive. Of course, there are very 
many exceptions to these predominating characteristics. 

Other causes to which we may attribute a general want 
of courtesy in manners are 'certain incidental results of our 
domestic institutions. Our ancestors and their descendants 
have constantly been combating the aristocratic principle 
which would exalt one class of men at the expense of an- 
other. They have had to contend with this principle, not 
only in civil but in social life. Almost every American, in 
his own person as well as in behalf of his class, has had to 
assume and defend the main principle of democracy — that 
every man's feelings and interests are equal in value to 
those of every oth-er nmn. But, in doing this, there has 
been some want of clear discrimination. Because claims 
based on distinctions of mere birth, fortune, or Dosition, 
were found to be injurious, many have gone to the extreme 
of inferring that all distinctions, involving subordinations, 
are useless. Such would wrongfully regard children as 
equals to parents, pupils to teachers, domestics to their em- 
ployers, and subjects to magistrates — and that, too, in all 
respects. 

The fact that certain grades of superiority and subordi- 
nation are needful, both for individual and public benefit, 
has not been clearly discerned ; and there has been a gradual 
tendency to an extreme, of the opposite view which has 



GOOD MANNERS BOTH DEMOCRATIC AND CHRISTIAN. 175 



sensibly affected our manners. All the proprieties and 
courtesies which depend on the recognition of the relative 
duties of superior and subordinate have been warred upon ; 
and thus we see, to an increasing extent, disrespectful treat- 
ment of- parents, by children ; of teachers, by pupils ; of 
employers, by domestics ; and of the aged, by the young. 
In all classes and circles, there is a gradual decay in com^tesy 
of address. 

In cases, too, where kindness is rendered, it is often ac- 
companied with a cold, unsympathizing manner, which 
greatly lessens its value ; while kindness or politeness is re- 
ceived in a similar style of coolness, as if it were but the 
pajrment of a just due. 

It is owing to these causes that the American people, 
especially the descendants of the Puritans, do not do them- 
selves justice. For, while those who are near enough to 
learn their real character and feelings can discern the most 
generous impulses, and the most kindly sympathies, they 
are often so vailed behind a composed and indifferent de- 
meanor, as to be almost entirely concealed from strangers. 

These defects in our national manners it especially falls 
to the care of mothers, and all who have charge of the 
young, to rectify; and if they seriously undertake the mat- 
ter, and wisely adapt means to ends, these defects will be 
remedied. With reference to this object, the following 
ideas are suggested. 

The law of Christianity and of democracy, which teaches 
that all men are b<2)rn equal in rights, and that their interests 
and feelings should be regarded as of equal value, seems to 
be adopted in aristocratic circles, with exclusive reference 
to the class in which the individual moves. The courtly 
gentleman addresses all of his own class with politeness and 
respect ; and in all his actions, seems to allow that the feel- 
ings and convenience of these others are to be regarded the 
same as his own. But his demeanor to those of inferior 
station is not based on the same rule. 

Among those who make up aristocratic circles, such as 
are above them are deemed of superior, and such as are be- 
low of inferior, value. Thus, if a young, ignorant, and 
vicious coxcomb happens to have been born a lord, the aged, 
the virtuous, the learned, and the well-bred of another class 
must give his convenience the precedence, and must address 
him in terms of respect. So sometimes, when a man of 



176 PRINCIPLE OF GOOD-BBEEDING. 



"noble birth" is tbrown among the lower classes, he de- 
means himself in a style which, to persons of his own class, 
wonld be deemed the height of assumption and rudeness. 

JN^ow, the principles of democracy require that the same 
courtesy which we accord to our own circle shall be extend- 
ed to every class and condition ; and that distinctions of su- 
periority and subordination shall depend, not on accidents 
of birth, fortune, or occupation, but solely on those mutual 
relations which the good of all classes equally require. 
The distinctions demanded in a democratic state are sim- 
ply those which result from relations that are common to 
every class, and are for the benefit of all. 

It is for the benefit of every class that children be subor- 
dinate to parents, pupils to teachers, the employed to their 
employers, and subjects to magistrates. In addition to this, 
it is for the general well-being that the comfort or conven- 
ience of the delicate and feeble should be preferred to that 
of the strong and healthy, who would suffer less by any de- 
privation ; that precedence should be given to their elders 
by the young ; and that reverence should be given to the 
hoary head. 

The rules of good-breeding, in a democratic state, must 
be founded on these principles. It is indeed a*ssumed that 
the value of the happiness of each individual is the same 
as that of every other; but as there must be occasions 
where there are advantages which all can not enjoy, there 
must be general rules for regulating a selection. Otherwise, 
there would be constant scrambling among those of equal 
claims, and brute force must be the final resort ; in which 
case, the strongest would have the best of every thing. The 
democratic rule, then, is, that superiors in age, station, or 
office have precedence of subordinates ; age and feebleness, 
of youth and strength ; and the feebler sex, of more vigor- 
ous man.* 

There is, also, a style of deportment and address which 
is appropriate to these different relations. It is suitable for 
a superior to secure compliance with his wishes from those 
subordinate to him by commands ; but a subordinate must 

* The universal practice of this nation, in thus giving precedence to 
woman has been severely commented on by foreigners, and by some who 
would transfer all the business of the other sex to women, and then have 
them treated like men. But we hope this evidence of our superior civiliza- 
tion and Christianity may increase rather than diminish. 



COURTESY SHOULD BE TAUGHT EARLY. 17T 



secure compliance with his wishes from a superior by re- 
quests. (Although the kind and considerate manner to sub- 
ordinates will always be found the most effective as well as 
the pleasantest, by those in superior station.) It is suitable 
for a parent, teacher, or employer to admonish for neglect 
of duty ; but not for an inferior to adopt such a course to- 
ward a superior. It is suitable for a superior to take pre- 
cedence of a subordinate, without any remark ; but not 
for an inferior, without previously asking leave, or offering 
an apology. It is proper for a superior to use language 
and manners of freedom and familiarity, which would be 
improper from a subordinate to a superior. 

The want of due regard to these proprieties occasions a 
great defect in American manners.. It is very common to 
hear children talk to their parents in a style proper only 
between companions and equals; so, also, the young ad- 
dress their elders; those employed, their employers; and 
domestics, the members of the family and their visitors, 
in a style which is inappropriate to their relative positions. 
But courteous address is required not merely toward supe- 
riors ; every person desires to be thus treated, and therefore 
the law of benevolence demands such demeanor toward all 
whom we meet in the social intercourse of life. " Be ye 
courteous," is the direction of the apostle in reference to 
our treatment of all. 

Good manners can be successfully cultivated only in 
early life and in the domestic circle. There is nothing 
which depends so much upon habit as the constantly recm^- 
ring proprieties of good breeding ; and if a child grows up 
without forming such habits, it is very rarely the case that 
they can be formed at a later period. The feeling that it is 
of little consequence how we behave at home if we con- 
duct ourselves properly abroad, is a very fallacious one. 
Persons who are careless and ill-bred at home may ima- 
gine that they can assume good manners abroad ; but they 
mistake. Fixed habits of tone, manner, language, and 
movements can not be suddenly altered ; and those who 
are ill-bred at home, even when they try to hide their bad 
habits, are sure to violate many of the obvious rules of pro- 
priety, and yet be uncor^^cious of it. 

And there is nothing v ;ich would so effectually remove 
prejudice against our democratic institutions as the gene- 
ral cultivation of good-breedi-ig in the domestic circle. 



178 BENEVOLENCE THE BASIS OF COTJETEST. 



Grood manners are the exterior jof benevolence, the minute 
and constant exhibitions of " peace and good- will ;" and the 
nation, as well as the individual, which most excels in the 
external demonstration, as well as the internal principle, 
will be most respected and beloved. 

It is onlj the training of the family state according to 
its true end and aim that is to seciire to woman her trne 
position and rights. When the f alnily is instituted by mar- 
riage, it is man who is the head and chief magistrate by 
the force of his physical power and requirement of the 
chief responsibility ; not less is he so according to the Chris- 
tian law, by which, when differences arise, the husband 
has the deciding control, and the wife is to obey. " Where 
love is, there is no law ;" but where love is not, the only 
dignified and peaceful course is for the wife, however much 
his superior, to " submit, as to God and not to man." 

But this power of nature and of religion, given to man 
as the controlling head, involves the distinctive duty of the 
family state, self-sacrificing love. The husband is to " hon- 
or " the wife, to love her as himself, and thus accomit her 
wishes and happiness as of equal value with his own. But 
more than this, he is to love her " as Christ loved the 
Church ;" that is, he is to " suffer" for her, if need be, in 
order to support and elevate and ennoble her. 

The father then is to set the example of self-sacrifi- 
cing love and devotion ; and the mother, of Christian obe- 
dience when it is required. Every boy is to be trained for 
his future domestic position by labor and sacrifices for his 
mother and sisters. It is the brother who is to do the hard- 
est and most disagreeable work, to face the storms and per- 
form the most laborious drudgeries. In the family circle, 
too, he is to give his mother and sister precedence in all 
the conveniences and comforts of home life. 

It is only those nations where the teachings and example 
of Christ have had most influence that man has ever as- 
sumed his obligations of self-sacrificing benevolence in the 
family. And even in Christian communities, the duty of 
wives to obey their husbands has been more strenuously 
urged than the obligations of the husband to love his wife 
" as Christ loved the Church." 

Here it is needful to notice that the distinctive duty of 
obedience to man does not rest on women who do not enter 
the relations of married life. A woman who inherits pro- 



TBAINING OF CEILBEEN TO POLITENESS. 179 



perty, or who earns her own livelihood, can institute the 
family state, adopt orphan children and employ suitable 
helpers in training them ; and then to her will appertain the 
authority and rights that belong to man as the head of a 
family. And when every woman is trained to some self-sup- 
porting business, she will not be tempted to enter the fami- 
ly state as a subordinate, except by that love for which there 
is no need of law. 

These general principles being stated, some details in re- 
gard to domestic manners will be enumerated. 

In the first place, there should be required in the family 
a strict attention to the rules of precedence, and those 
modes of address appropriate to the various relations to be 
sustained. Children should always be required to offer 
their superiors, in age or station, the precedence in all com- 
forts and conveniences, and always address them in a re- 
spectful tone and manner. The custom of adding, " Sir," or 
" Ma'am," to " Yes," or " E'o," is valuable, as a perpetual 
indication of a respectful recognition of superiority. It is 
now going out of fashion, even among the most well bred 
people ; probably from a want of consideration of its im- 
portance. Every remnant of courtesy of address, in our 
customs, should be carefully cherished, by all who feel a 
value for the proprieties of good breeding. 

If parents allow their children to talk to them, and to 
the grown persons in the family, in the same style in which 
they address each other, it will be in vain to hope for the 
courtesy of manner and tone which good breeding demands 
in the general intercourse of society. In a large family, 
.where the elder children are grown up, and the younger 
are small, it is important to require the latter to treat the 
elder in some sense as superiors. There are none so ready 
as young children to assume airs of equality ; and if they 
are allowed to treat one class of superiors in age and cha- 
racter disrespectfully, they will soon use the privilege uni- 
versally. This is the reason why the youngest children of 
a family are most apt to be pert, forward, and unmannerly. 

Another point to be aimed at is, to require children al- 
ways to acknowledge every act of kindness and attention, 
either by words or manner. If they are so trained as al- 
ways to make grateful acknowledgments, when receiving 
favors, one of the objectionable features in American man- 
ners will be avoided. 



180 COURTESIES OF THE FAMILY, SOCIETY, HOSPITALITY. 



Again, children should be required to ask leave, when- 
ever they wish to gratify curiosity, or use an article which 
belongs to another. And if cases occur, when they can not 
comply with the rules of good-breeding, as, for instance, 
when they must step between a person and the fire, or take 
the chair of an older person, they should be taught either 
to ask leave, or to offer an apology. 

There is another point of good-breeding, which can not, 
in all cases, be understood and applied by children in its 
widest extent. It is that which requires us to avoid all re- 
marks which tend to embarrass, vex, mortify, or in any 
way wound the feelings of another. To notice personal 
defects ; to allude to others' faults, or the faults of their 
friends; to speak disparagingly of the sect or party to 
which a person belongs ; to be inattentive when addressed 
in conversation ; to contradict flatly ; to speak in contemp- 
tuous tones of opinions expressed by another; all these 
are violations of the rules of good-breeding, which children 
should be taught to regard. Under this head comes the 
practice of whispering and staring about, when a teacher, 
or lecturer, or clergyman is addressing a class or audience. 
Such inattention is practically saying that what the person 
is uttering is not worth attending to ; and persons of real 
good-breeding always avoid it. Loud talking and laughing 
in a large assembly, even when no exercises are going on ; 
yawning and gaping in company ; and not looking in the 
lace a person who is addressing you, are deemed marks of 
ill-breeding. 

Another branch of good manners relates tg the duties 
of hospitality. Politeness requires us to welcome visitors 
with cordiality ; to offer them the best accommodations ; to 
address conversation to them ; and to express, by tone and 
manner, kindness and respect. Offering the hand to all 
visitors at one's own house is a courteous and hospitable 
custom ; and a cordial shake of the hand, when friends 
meet, would abate much of the coldness of manner ascrib- 
ed to Americans. 

Another point of good breeding refers to the conven- 
tional rules of propriety and good taste. Of these, the 
first class relates to the avoidance of all disgusting . or 
offensive personal habits: such as fingering the hair; ob- 
trusively using a toothpick, or carrying one in the mouth 
after the needful use of it ; cleaning the nails in presence of 



TABLE MANNEBS. 181 



otliers ; picking the nose ; spitting on carpets ; snnffing in- 
stead of using a handkerchief , or nsing the article in an of- 
fensive manner ; lifting np the boots or shoes, as some men 
do, to tend them on the knee, or to finger them : all these 
tricks, either at home or in society, children should be tanght 
to avoid. 

Another topic, under this head, may be called tMe 
manners. To persons of good-breeding, nothing- is more 
annoying than violations of the conventional proprieties of 
the table. Reaching over another person's plate; standing up, 
to reach distant articles, instead of asking to have them 
passed ; using one's own knife and spoon for butter, salt, 
or sugar, when it is the custom of the family to provide 
separate utensils for the purpose ; setting cups with the tea 
dripping from them, on the table-cloth, instead of the mats 
or small plates furnished ; using the table-cloth instead of 
the napkins ; eating fast, and in a noisy manner ; putting 
large pieces in the mouth ; looking and eating as if very 
hungry, or as if anxious to get at certain dishes ; sitting at 
too great a distance from the table, and dropping food; 
laying the knife and fork' on the table-cloth, instead of on 
the edge of the plate ; picking the teeth at table : all these 
particulars children should be taught to avoid. 

It is always desirable, too, to train children, when at ta- 
ble with grown persons, to be silent, except when, addressed 
by others ; or else their chattering will interrupt the con- 
versation and comfort of their elders. They should always 
be required, too, to wait in silence, till all the older persons 
are helped. 

When children are alone with their parents, it is desirable 
to lead them to converse and to take this as an opportunity 
to form proper conversational habits. But it should be a 
fixed rule that, when strangers are present, the children are 
to, listen in silence and only reply when addressed. Unless 
this is secured, visitors will often be condemned to listen to 
puerile cliattering, with small chance of the proper atten- 
tion due to guests and superiors in age and station. 

Children should be trained, in preparing themselves for 
the table or for appearance among the family, not only to 
put their hair, face, and hands in neat order, but also their 
nails, and to habitually attend to this latter whenever they 
wash their hands. 

There are some very disagreeable tricks which many 



182 CEILBBEN TO BE PATIENTLY TBAINED. 



cliildren practice even in families counted well-bred. Such, 
for example, are drumming with the fingers on some piece 
of furniture, or humming a tune while others are talking, 
or interrupting conversation by pertinacious questions, or 
whistling in the house instead of out-doors, or speaking 
several at once and in loud voices to gain attention. All 
these are violations of good-breeding, which children should 
be trained to avoid, lest they should not only annoy as chil- 
dren, but practice the same kind of ill manners when ma- 
ture. In all assemblies for public debate, a chairman or 
moderator is appointed whose business it is to see that only 
one person speaks at a time, that no one interrupts a person 
when speaking, that no needless noises are made, and that 
all indecorums are avoided. Such an officer is sometimes 
greatly needed in family circles. 

Children should be encouraged freely to use lungs and 
limbs out-doors, or. in hours for sport in the house, ^ut at 
other times, in the domestic circle, gentle tones and man- 
ners should be cultivated. The words gentleman and gentle- 
woman came originally from the fact that the uncultivated 
and ignorant classes used coarse and loud tones, and rough 
words and movements ; while only the refined circles habit- 
ually used gentle tones and gentle manners. For the same 
reason, those born in the higher circles wer% called " of gen- 
tle blood." Thus it came that a coarse and loud voice, and 
rough, ungentle manners, are regarded as vulgar and ple- 
beian. 

All these things should be taught to children, gradually, 
and with great patience and gentleness. Some parents, 
with whom good manners are a great object, are in danger of 
making their children perpetually uncomfortable, by sud- 
.denly surrounding them with so many rules that they must 
inevitably violate some one or other a great part of the 
time. It is much better to begin with a few rules, and be 
steady and persevering with these, till a habit is formed, 
and then take a few more, thus making the process easy 
and gradual. Otherwise, the temper of children will be in- 
jured ; or, hopeless of fulfilling so many requisitions, they 
will become reckless and indifi'erent to all. 

If a few brief, well-considered, and sensible. rules of good 
manners could be suspended in every school-room, and the 
children all required to commit them to memory, it proba- 
bly would do more to remedy the defects of American 



DE TOCqUEVILLE ON AMEEIGAN MANNERS. 183 



manners and to advance nniversal good-breeding than any 
other mode that conld be so easily adopted. 

But, in reference to those who have enjoyed advantages 
for the cultivation of good manners, and who duly estimate 
its importance, one caution is necessary. Those who never 
have had such habits formed in youth are under disadvan- 
tages which no benevolence of temper can altogether remedy. 
They may often violate the tastes and feelings of others, not 
from a want of proper regard for them, but from ignorance 
of custom, or want of habit, or abstraction of mind, or 
from other causes which demand forbearance and sympathy, 
rather than displeasure. An ability to bear patiently with 
defects in manners, and to make candid and considerate 
allowance for a want of advantages,, or for peculiarities in 
mental habits, is one mark of the benevolence of real good- 
breeding. 

The advocates of monarchical and aristocratic institutions 
have always had great plausibility given to their views, by 
the seeming tendencies of our institutions to insubordination 
and bad manners. And it has been too indiscriminately 
conceded, by the defenders of the latter, that such are these 
tendencies, and that the offensive points in American man- 
ners are the necessary result of democratic principles. 

But it is believed that both facts and reasoning are in op- 
position to this opinion. The following extract from the 
work of De Tocqueville, the great political philosopher of 
France, exhibits the opinion of an impartial observer, when 
comparing American manners with those of the English, 
who are confessedly the most aristocratic of all people. 

He previously remarks on the tendency of aristocracy to 
make men more sympathizing with persons of their own 
peculiar class, and less so toward those of lower degree ; 
and he then contrasts American manners with the English, 
claiming that the Americans are much the more anable, 
mild, and social. "In America, where the privileges of 
birth never existed and where riches confer no peculiar 
rights on their possessors, men acquainted with each other are 
very ready to frequent the same places, and find neither peril 
nor disadvantage in the free interchange of their thoughts. 
If they meet by accident, they neither seek nor avoid inter- 
course ; their manner is therefore natural, frank, and open." 
" If their demeanor is often cold and serious, it is never 
haughty or constrained." But an " aristocratic pride is 



184 AMEBIC A SHOULD BE THE POLITEST OF NATIONS. 



still extremely great among the English ; and as the limits 
of aristocracy are still ill-defined, every body lives in con- 
stant dread, lest advantage should be taken of his famili- 
arity. Unable to indge, at once, of the social position of 
those he meets, an Englishman prudently avoids all contact 
with him. Men are afraid, lest some slight service render- 
ed should draw them into an unsuitable acquaintance ; 
they dread civilities, and they avoid the obtrusive gratitude 
of a stranger, as much as his hatred." 

Thus, facts seem to show that when the most aristocratic 
nation in the world is compared, as to manners, with the 
most democratic, the judgment of strangers is in favor of 
the latter. • And if good manners are the outward exhibi- 
tion of the democratid principle of impartial benevolence 
and equal rights, surely the nation which adopts this rule, 
both in social and civil life, is the most likely to secure 
the desirable exterior. The aristocrat, by his principles, ex- 
tends the exterior of impartial benevolence to his own class " 
only ; the democratic principle requires it to be extended 
to all. 

There is reason, therefore, to hope and expect more re- 
fined and polished manners in America than in any other 
land ; while all the developments of taste and refinement, 
such as poetry, music, painting, sculpture, and architecture, 
it may be expected, will come to as high a state of perfec- 
tion here as in any other nation. 

If this country increases in virtue and intelligence, as it 
may, there is no end to the wealth which will pour in as the 
result of our resources of climate, soil, and navigation, and 
the skill, industry, energy, and enterprise of our country- 
men. This wealth, if used as intelligence and virtue dic- 
tate, will furnish the means for a superior education to all 
classes, and every facility for the refinement of taste, intel- 
lect, and feeling. 

Moreover, in this country, labor is ceasing to be the 
badge of a lower class ; so that already it is disreputable 
for a man to be " a lazy gentleman." And this feeling 
must increase, till there is such an equalization of labor as 
will afford all the time needful for every class to improve 
the many advantages offered to them. Already through 
the munificence of some of our citizens, there are literary 
and scientific advantages offered to all classes, rarely en- 
joyed elsewhere. In most of our large cities and towns, the 



ADVANTAGES OF AMERICAN LIFE. 185 



advantages of education, now offered to the poorest classes, 
often without charge, surpass what, some years ago, most 
wealthy men could purchase for any price. And it is be- 
lieved that a time will come when the poorest boy in 
America can secure advantages, which will equal what the 
heir of the proudest peerage can now command. 

The records of the courts of France and Germany, (as 
detailed by the Duchess of Orleans,) in and succeeding the 
brilliant reign of Louis the Fomleenth — a period which 
was deemed the acme of elegance and refinement — exhibit 
a grossness, a vulgarity, and a coarseness, not to be found 
among the very lowest of om' respectable poor. And the 
biography of the English Beau !Nash, who attempted to re- 
form the manners of the gentry, in the times of Queen 
Anne, exhibits violations oi the rules of decency among 
the aristocracy, which the commonest yeoman of this land 
would feel disgraced in perpetrating. 

This shows that our lowest classes, at this period, are 
more refined than were the highest in aristocratic lands, a 
hundred years ago; and another century may show the 
lowest classes, in wealth, in this country, attaining as high 
a polish as adorns those who now are leaders of good man- 
ners in the courts of kings. 



xyi. 

THE PEESEEVATION OF GOOD TEMPEK IN THE HOTJSEKEEPEE. 

There is nothing which has a more abiding influence on 
the happiness of a family than the preservation of equable 
and cheerful temper and tones in the housekeeper. A wo- 
man who is habitually gentle, sympathizing, forbearing, and 
cheerful, carries an atmosphere about her which imparts a 
soothing and sustaining influence, and renders it easier for 
all to do right, under her administration, than in any other 
situation. 

The writer has known families where the mother's pre- 
sence seemed the sunshine of the circle around her ; impart- 
ing a cheering and vivifying power, scarcely realized till it 
was withdrawn. Every one, without thinking of it, or 
knowing why it was so, experienced a peaceful and invigo- 
rating influence as soon as he entered the sphere illumined' 
by her smile, and sustained by her cheering kindness and 
sympathy. On the contrary, many a good housekeeper; 
(good in every respect but this,) by wearing' a countenance 
of anxiety and dissatisfaction, and by indulging in the fre- 
quent use of sharp and reprehensive tones, more than de- 
stroys all the comfort which otherwise would result from 
her system, neatness, and economy. 

There is a secret, social sympathy which every mind, to 
a greater or less degree, experiences with the feelings of 
those around, as they are^ manifested by the countenance 
and voice. A sorrowful, a discontented, or an angry coun- 
tenance produces a silent, sympathetic influence, imparting 
a sombre shade to the mind, while tones of anger or com- 
plaint still more effectually jar the spirits. 

1^0 person can maintain a quiet and cheerful frame of 
mind while tones of discontent and displeasure are sounding 
on the ear. We may gradually accustom ourselves to the 
evil till it is partially diminished ; but it always is an evil 
which greatly interferes with the enjoyment of the family 
state. There are sometimes cases where the entrance of 



THE DAILY CROSSES OF AMERICAN HOUSEKEEPERS. ] 87 



the mistress of a family seems to awaken a slight appre- 
hension in every mind aronnd, as if each felt in danger of 
a reproof, for something either perpetrated or neglected. A 
woman who shonld go aronnd her honse with a small sting- 
ing snapper, which she habitually applied to those whom 
she met, wonld be enconntered with feelings very mnch 
like those which are experienced by the inmates of a 
family where the mistress often nses her countenance and 
voice to inflict similar penalties for duties neglected. 

Yet there are many allowances to be made for house- 
keepers, who sometimes imperceptibly and unconsciously 
fall into such habits. A woman who attempts to carry out 
any plans of system, order, and economy, and who has her 
feelings and habits conformed to certain rules, is constantly 
liable to have her plans crossed, and her taste violated, by 
the inexperience or inattention of those about her. And no 
housekeeper, whatever may be her habits, can escape the 
frequent recurrence of negligence or mistake, which inter- 
feres with her plans. 

It is probable that there is no class of persons in the 
world who have such incessant trials of temper, and temp- 
tations to be fretful, as American housekeepers. For 
a housekeeper's business is not, like that of the other 
sex, limited to a particular department, for Avhich pre- 
vious preparation is made. It consists of ten thousand 
little disconnected items, which can never be so systemati- 
cally arranged that there is no daily jostling somewhere. 
And in the best-regulated families, it is not unfrequently 
the case that some act of forgetfulness or carelessness, from 
some member, will disarrange the business of the whole 
day, so that every hour will bring renewed occasion for an- 
noyance. And the more strongly a woman realizes the 
value of time, and the importance of system and order, the 
more will she be tempted to irritability and complaint. 

The following considerations may aid in preparing a wo- 
man to meet such daily crosses with even a cheerful tem- 
per and tones. 

In the first place, a woman who has charge of a large 
household should regard her duties as dignified, important, 
and difiicult. The mind is so made as to be elevated and 
cheered by a sense of far-reaching influence and usefulness. 
A woman who feels that she is a cipher, and that it makes 
little difference how she performs her duties, has far less to 



i88 ROW TO PBE8EBVE Ji GOOD TEMF,EB. 



sustain and invigorate her, than one who truly estimates 
the importance of her station. A man who feels that the 
destinies of a nation are turning on the judgment and skill 
with which he plans and executes, has a pressure of motive 
and an elevation of feeling which are great safeguards 
against all that is low, trivial, and degrading. 

So, an American mother and housekeeper who rightly 
estimates the long train of influence which will pass down 
to thousands, whose destinies, from generation to gene-- 
ration, will be modified by' those decisions of her will 
which regulate the temper, principles, and habits of her 
family, must be elevated above petty temptations which 
would otherwise assail her. 

Again, a housekeeper should feel that she really has great 
difficulties to meet and overcome. A person who wrongly 
thinks there is little danger, can never maintain so faithful 
a guard as one who rightly estimates the temptations which 
beset her. . JN^or can one who thinks that . they are trifling 
difficulties which she has to encounter, and trivial tempta- 
tions to which she must yield, so much enjoy the just re- 
ward of conscious virtue and self-control as one who takes 
ah opposite view of the subject. 

A third method is, for a woman deliberately to calculate 
on having her best-arranged plans interfered with very 
often; and to be in such a state of preparation that the 
evil will not come unawares. So complicated are the pur- 
suits and so diverse the habits of the various members of a 
family, that it is almost impossible for every one to avoid 
interfering with the plans and taste of a housekeeper, in 
some one point or another. It is, therefore, most wise for 
a woman to keep the loins of her mind ever girt, to meet 
such collisions with a cheerful and quiet spirit. 

Another important rule is, to form all plans and arrange- 
ments in consistency with the means at command, and the 
character of those around. A woman who has a heedless 
husband, and young children, and incompetent domestics, 
ought not to make such plans as one may properly form 
who will not, in so many directions, meet embarrassment. 
She must aim at just as much as she can probably attain, 
and no more ; and thus she will usually escape much temp- 
tation, and much of the irritation of disappointment. 

The fifth, and a very important consideration, is, that 
system, economy, and neatness are valuable, only so f%r as 



MODES OF GOVEBNING THE TEMPEB. 189 



they tend to promote the comfort and well-being of those 
aifected. Some women seem to act under the impression 
that these advantages 'inust be secured, at all events, even 
if the comfort of the family be the sacrifice. True, it is 
very important that children grow up in habits of system, 
neatness, and order ; and it is very desi^-able that the mo- 
ther give them every incentive, both by precept and example ; 
but it is still more important that they grow up with ami- 
able tempers, that they learn to meet the crosses of life 
with patience and cheerfulness; and nothing has a greater 
influence to secure this than a mother's example. When- 
ever, therefore, a woman can not accomplish her plans of 
neatness and order without injury to her own temper or 
to the temper of others, she ought to modify and reduce 
them until she can. 

The sixth method relates to the government of the tones 
of voice. In many cases, when a woman's domestic ar- 
rangements are suddenly and seriously crossed, it is impos- 
sible not to feel some irritation. But it is always possible 
to refrain from angry tones. A woman can resolve that, 
whatever happens, she will not speak till she can do it in a 
calm and gentle manner. Perfect silence is a safe resort, 
when such control can not be attained as enables a person 
to speak calmly ; and this determination, persevered in, will 
eventually be crowned with success. 

Many person^ seem to imagine that tones of anger are 
needful, in order to secure prompt obedience. But observa- 
tion has convinced the writer that they are never necessary ; 
that in all cases^ reproof, administered in calm tones, would 
be better. A case will be given in illustration. 

A young girl had been repeatedly charged to avoid a 
certain arrangement in cooking. On one day, when com- 
pany was invited to dine, the direction was forgotten, and 
the consequence was an accident, which disarranged every 
thing, seriously injured the principal dish, and delayed din- 
ner for an hour. The mistress of the family entered the 
kitchen just as it occurred, and at a glance, saw the extent 
of the mischief. For a moment, her eyes flashed, and her 
cheeks glowed ; but she held her peace. After a minute or 
so, she gave directions in a calm voice, as to the best mode 
of retrieving the evil, and then left, without a word said to 
the offender. 

After the company left, she sent for the girl, alone, and 



190 ANGEB, COMPLAINT, AND REPBOOF UNNEGESSABY. 



in a calm and kind manner pointed out tlie aggravations of 
the case, and described the trouble which had been caused 
to her husband, her visitors, and herself. She then por- 
trayed the future evils which would result from such habits 
of neglect and inattention, and the modes of attempting to 
overcome them ; and then offered a reward for the future, 
if, in a given time, she succeeded in improving in this re- 
spect. l^Qtt a tone of anger was uttered; and jet the 
severest scolding of a practiced Xantippe could not have 
secured such contrition, and determination to reform, as 
were gained by this method. 

But similar negligence is often visited by a continuous 
stream of complaint and reproof, which, in most cases, is 
met either by sullen silence or impertinent retort, while 
anger prevents any contrition or any resolution of future 
amendment. 

It is very certain, that some ladies do carry forward a 
most efficient government, both of children and domestics, 
without employing tones of anger ; and therefore they are 
not indispensable, nor on any account desirable. 

Though some ladies of intelligence and refinement do 
fall unconsciously into such a practice, it is certainly veiy 
unlady-like, and in very bad taste, to scold / and the fur- 
ther a woman departs from all approach to it, the more per- 
fectly she sustains her character as a lady. 

Another method of securing equanimity, amid the trials 
of domestic life is, to cultivate a habit of making allowances 
for the difficulties, ignorance, or temptations of those who 
violate rule or neglect duty. It is vain, and most unreason- 
able, to expect the consideration and care of a mature mind 
in childhood and youth ; or that persons of such limited ad- 
vantages as most domestics have enjoyed should practice 
proper self-control and possess proper habits and principles. 

Every parent and every employer needs daily to culti- 
vate the spirit expressed in the divine prayer, " Forgive us 
our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us." 
The same allowances and forbearance which we supplicate 
from our Heavenly Father, and desire from our fellow-men 
in reference to our own deficiencies, we should constantly 
aim to extend to all who cross our feelings and interfere 
with our plans. 

The last and most important mode of securing a placid 
and cheerful temper and tones is, by a constant belief in 



TEE HELPFULNESS OF RELIGION. 191 



the influence of a superintending Providence. All persons 
are too much in the habit of regarding the more important 
events of life exclusively as under the control of Perfect 
Wisdom. But the fall of a sparrow, or the loss of a hair, 
they do not feel to be equally the result of his directing 
agency. In consequence of this, Christian persons who aim 
at perfect and cheerful submission to heavy afflictions, and 
who succeed to the edification of all about them, are 
sometimes sadly deficient under petty crosses. If a beloved 
child be laid in the grave, even- if its death resulted from the 
carelessness of a domestic or of a physician, the eye is turned 
from the subordinate agent to the Supreme Guardian of all ; 
and to him they bow, without murmur or complaint. But 
if a pudding be burnt, or a room badly swept, or an errand 
forgotten, then vexation and complaint are allowed, just, as 
if these events were not appointed by Perfect Wisdom as 
much as the sorer chastisement. 

A woman, therefore, needs to cultivate the liahitual feel- 
ing that all the events of her nursery and kitchen are 
brought about by the permission of our Heavenly Father, 
and that fretfulness or complaint in regard to these is, in 
fact, complaining at the appointments of God, and is really 
as sinful as unsubmissive murmurs amid the sorer chastise- 
ments of his hand. And a w^oman w^ho cultivates this 
habit of referring all the minor trials of life to the wise and 
benevolent agency of a heavenly Parent, and daily seeks 
his sympathy and aid to enable her to meet them with a 
quiet and cheerful spirit, will soon find it the perennial 
spring of abiding peace and content. 

The power of religion to impart dignity and importance to 
the ordinary and seemingly petty details of domestic life, 
greatly depends upon the degree of faith in the reality of a 
life to come, and of its eternal results. A woman who is 
training a family simply with reference to this life may 
find exalted motives as she looks forward to unborn genera- 
tions whose temporal prosperity and happiness are depend- 
ing upon her fidelity and skill. But one who truly and 
firmly believes that this life is but the beginning of an eter- 
nal career to every immortal inmate of her home, and that 
the formation of tastes, habits, and character, under her 
care, will bring forth fruits of good or ill, not only through 
earthly generations, but through everlasting ages ; such a 
woman secures a calm and exalted principle of action, 
which no earthly motives can impart. 



XYH. 

HABITS OF SYSTEM AlH) OEDER, 

Any discussion of the equality of tlie sexes, as to intellec- 
tual capacity, seems frivolous and useless, both because it 
can never be decided, and because there would be no pos- 
sible advantage in the decision. But one topic, which is 
often drawn into this discussion, is of far more consequence ; 
and that is, the relative importance and difficulty of the 
duties a woman is called to perform. 

It is generally assumed, and almost as generally conceded, 
that a housekeeper's business -and cares are contracted and 
trivial ; and that the proper discharge of her duties de- 
mands far less expansion of mind and vigor of intellect 
than the pursuits of the other sex. This idea has prevailed 
because women, as a mass, have never been educated with 
reference to their most important duties ; while that por- 
tion of their employments which is of least value has been 
regarded as the chief, if not the sole, concern of a woman. 
The covering of the body, the convenience of residences, 
and the gratification of the appetite, have been too much 
regarded as the chief objects on which her intellectual 
powers are to be exercised. 

But as society gradually shakes off the remnants of bar- 
barism and the intellectual and moral interests of man rise, 
in estimation, above the merely sensual, a truer estimate is 
formed of woman's duties, and of the measure of intellect 
requisite for the proper discharge of them. Let any man 
of sense anti discernment become the member of a large 
household, in which a well-educated and pious woman is en- 
deavoring systematically to discharge her multiform duties ; 
let him fully comprehend all her cares, difficulties, and per- 
plexities ; and it is probable he would coincide in the opin- 
ion that no statesman, at the head of a nation's affairs, had 



IMPORTANCE AND DIFFICULTY OF WOMAN'S DUTIES. 193 



more frequent calls for wisdom, firmness, tact, discrimina- 
tion, prudence, and versatility of talent, than such a woman. 

She has a husband, to whose peculiar tastes and habits 
she must accommodate herself; she has children whose 
health she must guard, whose physical constitutions she must 
study and develop, whose temper and habits she must 
regulate, whose principles she must form, whose pursuits 
she must guide. She has constantly changing domestics, 
with all varieties of temper and habits, whom she must 
govern, instruct, and direct ; she is required to regulate the 
hnances of the domestic state, and constantly to adapt ex- 
penditures to the means and to the relative claims of each 
department. She has the direction of the kitchen, where 
ignorance, forgetfulness, and awkwardness are to be so re- 
gulated that the various operations shall each start at the 
right time, and all be in completeness at the same given 
hoiu". She has the claims of society to meet, visits to receive 
and return, and the duties of hospitality to sustain. She 
has the poor to relieve ; benevolent societies to aid ; the 
schools of her children to inquire and decide about ; the care 
of the sick and the aged ; the nursing of infancy ; and the 
endless miscellany of odd items, constantly recurring in a 
large family. 

Surely, it is a pernicious and mistaken idea, that the 
duties which tax a woman's mind are petty, trivial, or un- 
worthy of the highest grade of intellect and moral worth. 
Instead of allowing this feeling, every woman should im- 
bibe, from early youth, the impression that she is in train- 
ing for the discharge of the most important, the most dif- 
ficult, and the most sacred and interesting duties that can 
possibly employ the highest intellect. She ought to feel 
that her station and responsibilities in the great drama of 
life are second to none, either as viewed by her Maker, or 
in the estimation of all minds whose judgment is most 
worthy of respect. 

She who is the mother and housekeeper in a large family 
is the sovereign of an empire, denianding more varied 
cares, and involving more difiicult duties, than are really 
exacted of her who wears a crown and professedly regu- 
lates the interests of the greatest nation on earth. 

There is no one thing more necessary to a housekeeper 
in performing her varied duties, than a habit of system 
and order 'f and yet, the peculiarly desultory nature of 



J 94 SYSTEMATIC APPOBTIONMENT OF TIME. 



women's pursuits, and the embarrassments resulting from 
the state of domestic service in this country, render it very 
difficult to form such a habit. But it is sometimes the 
case that women who could and would carry forward a 
systematic plan of domestic economy dp not attempt it, 
simply from a want of knowledge of the various modes of 
introducing it. It is with reference to such, that various 
modes of securing system and order, which the writer has 
seen adopted, will be pointed out. 

A wise economy is nowhere more conspicuous, than in 
a systematic apportionraent of 'time to different pursuits. 
There are duties of a religious, intellectual, social, and do- 
mestic nature, each having different relative claims on at- 
tention. Unless a person has some general plan of appor- 
tioning these claims, some will intrench on others, and 
some, it is probable, will be entirely excluded. Thus, some 
find religious, social, and domestic duties so numerous, that 
no time is given to intellectual improvement. Others find 
either social, or benevolent, or religious interests excluded 
by the extent and variety of other engagements. 

It is wise, therefore, for all persons to devise a systematic 
plan, which they will at least keep in view, and aim to 
accomplish ; and by which a proj)er proportion of time 
shall be secured for all the duties of life. 

In forming such a plan, every woman must accommo- 
date herself to the peculiarities of her situation. If she 
has a large family and a small income, she must devote far 
more time to the simple duty of providing food and rai- 
ment than would be right were she in affluence, and with- 
a small family. It is impossible, therefore, to draw out 
any general plan, which all can adopt. But there are 
some general principles^ which ought to be the guiding 
rules, when a woman arranges her domestic employments. 
These principles are to be based on Christianity, which 
teaches us to " seek first the kingdom of God," and to 
deem food, raiment, and the conveniences of life, as of 
secondary account. Every woman, then, ought to start 
with the assumption, that the moral and religious interests 
of her family are of more consequence than any worldly 
concern, and that, whatever else may be sacrificed, these 
shall be the leading object, in all her arrangements, in re- 
spect to time, money, and attention. 

It is also one of the plainest requisitions of Christianity, 



WHICH DUTIES TO BE PBEFEBBED. 195 



that we devote some of our time and efforts to the com- 
fort and improvement of others. There is no duty so con- 
stantly enforced, both in the Old and ISTew Testament^ as 
that of charity, in dispensing to those who are desti- 
tute of the blessings we enjoy. In selecting objects of 
charity, the same rule applies to others as to our- 
selves ; their moral and religious interests are of the 
highest .moment, and for them, as well as for ourselves, 
we are to " seek first the kingdom of God." 

Another general principle is, that our intellectual and 
social interests are to be preferred to the mere gratifica- 
tion of taste or appetite. A portion of time, therefore, 
must be devoted to the cultivation of the intellect and the 
social affections. 

Another is, that the mere gratification of appetite is 
to be placed last in our estimate ; so that, wheu^a question 
arises as to which shall be sacrificed, some intellectual, 
moral, or social advantage, or some gratification of sense, 
we should invariably sacrifice the last. 

As health is indispensable to the discharge of every 
duty, nothing which sacrifices that blessing is to be al- 
lowed in order to gain any other advantage or enjoyment. 
There are emergencies, when it is right to risk health and 
life, to save ourselves and others from greater evils ; l)ut 
these are exceptions, which do not militate against the 
general rule. Many persons imagine that, if they violate 
the laws of health, in order to attend to religious or do- 
mestic duties, they are guiltless before God. But such 
greatly mistake. We directly violate the law, " Thou 
shalt not kill," when we do what tends to risk or shorten 
our own life. The life and happiness of all his creatures 
are dear to our Creator ; and he is as much displeased 
when we injure our own interests, as when we injure 
those of others. The idea, therefore, that we are excusa- 
ble if we harm no one but ourselves, is false and perni- 
cious. These, then, are some general principles, to guide 
a woman in systematizing her duties and pursuits. 

The Creator of all things is a Being of perfect system 
and order ; and, to aid us in our duty in this respect, he 
has divided our time, by a regularly returning day of rest 
from worldly business. In following this example, the in- 
tervening six days may be subdivided to secure similar bene- 
fits. In doing this, a certain portion of time must be given 



196 USUAL INYEESION OF TEE PUOPEB OEDEE. 



to procure the means of livelihood, and for preparing food, 
raiment, and dwellings. To these objects, some must de- 
vote more, and others less, attention. The 'remainder of 
time not necessarily thus employed, might be divided 
somewhat in this manner : The leisure of two afternoons 
and evenings could be devoted to religious and benevolent 
objects, such as religious meetings, charitable associations, 
school visiting, and attention to the sick and poor. The 
leisure of two other days might be devoted to intellectual 
improvement, and the pursuits of taste. The leisure of 
another day might be devoted to social enjoyments, in 
making or receiving visits ; and that of another, to mis- 
cellaneous domestic pursuits, not included in the other 
particulars. 

It is probable that few persons could carry out such an 
arrangement very strictly ; but every one can make a sys- 
tematic apportionment of time, and at least aim at accom- 
plishing it ; and they can also compare with such a gen- 
eral outline, the time which they actually devote to these 
different objects, for the purpose of modifying any mis- 
taken proportions. 

Without attempting any such systematic employment 
of time, and carrying it out, so far as they can control cir- 
cumstances, most women are rather driven along by the 
daily occurrences of life ; so that, instead of being the in- 
telligent regulators of their own time, they are . the mere 
sport of circumstances. There is nothing which so dis- 
tinctly marks the difference between weak and strong 
minds as the question, whether they control circumstan- 
ces or circumstances control them. 

It is very much to be feared, that the apportionment of 
time actually made by most women exactly inverts the 
order required by reason and Christianity. Thus, the 
furnishing a needless variety of food, the conveniences of 
dwellings, and the adornments of dress, often take a larger 
portion of time than is given to any other object. Kext 
after this, comes intellectual improvement ; and, last of all, 
benevolence and religion. 

It may be urged, that it is indispensable for most per- 
sons to give more time to earn a livelihood, and to prepare 
food, raiment, and dwellings, than to any other object. 
Eut it may be asked, how much of the time, devoted to 
these objects, is employed in preparing varieties of food 



EMPL YMENT OF SEPARA TE DA YS. ;[ 9 7 



not necessary, but rather injurious, and how mucli is spent 
for those parts of dress and furniture not indispensable, and 
merely ornamental ? Let a woman subtract from her do- 
mestic employments all the time given to pursuits which 
are of no use, except as they gratify a taste for ornament, 
or minister increased varieties to tempt the appetite, and 
she will find that much which she calls " domestic duty," 
and which prevents her attention to intellectual, benevo- 
lent, and religious objects, should be called by a very ditffer- 
ent name. 

]^o woman has a right to give up attention to the higher 
interests of herself and others, for the ornaments of person or 
the gratification of the palate. To a certain extent, these 
lower objects are lawful and desirable ; but when they in- 
trude on nobler interests, they become selfish and degrad- 
ing. Every woman, then, when employing her hands in 
ornamenting her person, her children, or her house, ought 
to calculate whether she has devoted as much time to the 
really more important wants of herself and others. If 
she has not, she may know that she is doing wrong, and 
that her system for apportioning her time and pursuits 
should be altered. 

Some persons endeavor to systematize their pursuits by 
apportioning them to particular hours of each day. For 
example, a certain period before breakfast, is given to de- 
votional duties ; after breakfast, certain hours are devoted 
to exercise and domestic employments ; other hours, to 
sewing, or reading, or visiting ; and others, to benevolent 
duties. . But in most cases, it is more difiicult to system- 
atize the hours of each day, than it is to secure some reg- 
ular division of the week. 

In regard to the minutiae of family work, the writer has 
known the following methods to be adopted. Monday, 
with some of the best housekeepers, is devoted to prepar- 
ing for the labors of the week. Any extra cooking, the 
purchasing of articles to be used during the week, the as- 
sorting of clothes for the wash, and mending such as would 
otherwise be injured — these, and similar items, belong to 
this day. Tuesday is devoted to washing, and Wednesday 
to ironing. On Thursday, the ironing is finished oif, the 
clothes are folded and put away, and all articles v/hich 
need mending are put in the mending-basket, and attended 
to. Friday is devoted to sweeping and house-cleaning. 



198 SUPPLY AND ABBANGEMENT OF CONYEmENCES. 



On Saturday, and especially the last Saturday of every 
month, every department is put in order ; the casters and 
table furniture are regulated, the pantry and cellar in- 
spected, the trunks, drawers, and closets arranged, and 
every thing about the house put in order for Sunday. By 
this regular recurrence of a particular time for inspecting 
every thing, nothing is forgotten till ruined by neglect. 

Another mode of systematizing relates to providing 
proper supplies of conveniences, and proper places in 
which to keep them. Thus, some ladies keep a large closet, 
in which is placed the tubs, pails, dippers, soap-dishes, 
starch, blueing, clothes-lines, clothes-pins, and every other 
article used in washing ; and in the same, or another 
place, is kept every convenience for ironing. In the 
sewing department, a trunk, with suitable partitions, is 
provided, in which are placed, each in its proper place, 
white thread of all sizes, colored thread, yarns for mend- 
ing, colored and black sewing-silks and twist, tapes and 
bobbins of all sizes, white and colored welting-cords, silk 
braids and cords, needles of all sizes, papers of pins, rem- 
nants of linen and colored cambric, a supply of all kinds 
of buttons used in the family, black and white hooks and 
eyes, a yard measure, and all the patterns used in cutting 
and fitting. These are done up in separate parcels, and 
labeled. In another trunk, or in a piece-bag, such as has 
been previously described, are kept all pieces used in mend- 
ing, arranged in order. A trunk, like the first mentioned, 
will save many steps, and often much time and perplexity ; 
while by purchasing articles thus by the quantity, they come 
much cheaper than if bought in little portions as they are 
wanted. Such a trunk should be kept- locked, and a 
smaller supply for current use retained in a work-basket. 

A full supply of all conveniences in the kitchen and cel- 
lar, and a place appointed for each article, very much fa- 
cilitate domestic labor. For want of this, much vexation 
and loss of time is occasioned while seeking vessels in use, 
or in cleansing those employed by difierent persons for 
various purposes. It w^ould be far better for a lady to give 
up some expensive article in the parlor, and apply the mo- 
ney thus saved for kitchen conveniences, than co have a 
stinted supply where the most labor is to be performed. 
If our countrywomen would devote more to comfort and 
convenience, and less to show, it would be a great improve- 



CSILDBEN TO BE MADE EELPFX7L. I99 



ment. Expensive mirrors and pier-tables in tlie parlor, and 
an unpainted, gloomy, ill-furnished kitclien, not nnfreqnent- 
ly are fonnd under the same roof. 

Another important item in systematic economy is, the ap- 
portioning of regular employment to the various members 
of a family. If a housekeeper can secure the cooperation 
of all her family, she will find that " many hands make 
ligh{ work." There is no greater mistake than in bring- 
ing up children to feel that they must be taken care of, 
and waited on by others, without any corresponding obli- 
gations on their part. The extent to which young chil- 
dren can be made useful in a family would seem surpris- 
ing to those who have never seen a syste/inatiG and regular 
plan for utilizing their services. The writer has been in a 
family where a little girl, of eight or nine years of age, 
washed and dressed herself and young brother, and made 
their small beds, before breakfast ; set and cleared all the 
tables for meals, with a little help from a grown person in 
moving tables and spreading cloths ; while all the dusting 
of parlors and chambers was also neatly performed by her. 
A brother of ten years old brought in and piled all the 
wood used in the kitchen and parlor, brushed the boots 
and shoes, went on errands, and took all the care of the 
poultry. They were children whose parents could afford 
to hire servants to do this, but who chose to have their 
children grow up healthy and industrious, while proper in- 
struction, system, and encouragement made these services 
rather a pleasure than otherwise, to the children. 

Some parents pay their children for such services ; but 
this is hazardous, as tending to make them feel that they 
are not bound to be helpful without pay, and also as tend- 
ing to produce a hoarding, money-making spirit. But 
where children have no hoarding propensities, and need to ac- 
quire a sense of the value of property, it may be well to let 
them earn money for som.e extra services rather as a favor. 
When this is done, they should be taught to spend it for 
others, as well as for themselves ; and in this way, a gen- 
erous and liberal spirit will be cultivated. 

There are some mothers w^ho take pains to teach their 
boys most of the domestic arts which their sisters learn. The 
writer has seen boys mending their own garments and 
aiding their mother or sisters in the kitchen, with great skill 
and adroitness ; and, g-t an early age, they usually very much 



200 OCCUPATION FOB BOYS AND GIRLS. 



relisli joining in such occupations. The sons of such mothers, 
in their college life, or in roaming about the world, or in 
nursing a sick wife or infant, find occasion to bless the fore- 
thought and kindness which prepared them for such emergen- 
cies. Few things are in worse taste than for a man needless- 
ly to busy himself in women's work ; and yet a man never 
appears in a more interesting attitude than when, by skill 
in such matters, he can save a mother or wife from care 
and suffering. The more a boy is taught to use his hands, 
in every variety of domestic employment, the more his facul- 
ties, both of mind and body, are developed ; for mechanical 
pursuits exercise the intellect as well as the hands. The 
early training of iLsTew-England boys, in which they turn 
their hand to almost every thing, is one great reason of the 
quick perceptions, versatility of mind, and mechanical skill, 
for which that portion of our countrymen is distinguished.' 

It is equally important that young girls should be taught 
to do some species of handicraft that generally is done by 
men, and especially with reference to the frequent emi- 
gration to new territories where well-trained mechanics are 
scarce. To hang wall-paper, repair locks, glaze windows, 
and mend various household articles, requires a skill in the 
. use of tools which every young girl should acquire. If she 
never has any occasion to apply this knowledge and skill 
by her own hands, she will often find it needful in direct- 
ing and superintending incompetent workmen. 

The writer has known one mode of systematizing the aid 
of the older children in a family, which, in some cases of 
very large families, it may be well to imitate. In the case 
referred to, when the oldest daughter w^as eight or nine, 
years old, an infant sister was given to her, as her special 
charge. She tended it, made and mended its clothes, taught 
it to read, and was its nurse and guardian, through all its 
. childhood. Another infant was given to the next daugh- 
ter, and thus the children were all paired in this interest- 
ing relation. In addition to the relief thus afforded to the 
mother, the elder children were in this way' qualified for 
their future domestic relations, and both older and youngei 
bound to each other by peculiar ties of tenderness and grati- 
tude. 

In offering these examples of various modes of systema- 
tizing, one suggestion may be worthy of attention. It is 
not unfrequently the case, that ladies, who find themselves 



ADVANTAGES OF SYSTEMATIC HABIT. . 201 



cumbered with oppressive cares, after reading remarks on 
the benefits of system, immediately commence the task of 
arranging their pursuits, with great vigor and hope. They 
divide the day into regular periods, and give each hour its 
duty ; they systematize their work, and endeavor to bring 
every thing into a regular routine. But, in a short time, 
they find themselves baffled, discouraged, and disheartened, 
and finally relapse into their former desultory ways, in a 
sort of resigned despair. 

The difficulty, in such cases, is, that they attempt too 
much at a time. There is nothing which so much depends 
upon hahit, as a systematic mode of performing duty ; and 
where no such habit has been formed, it is impossible for a 
novice to start, at once, into a universal mode of system- 
atizing, whjch none but an adept could carry through. 
The only way for such persons is to begin with a little 
at • a time. Let them select some three or four things, 
and resolutely attempt to conquer at these points. In 
time, a habit will be formed, of doing a few things at re- 
gular pei^iods, and in a systematic way. Then it will be 
easy to add a few more ; and thus, by a gradual process, 
the object can be secured, which it would be vain to at- 
tempt by a more summary course. 

Early rising is almost an indispensable condition to suc- 
cess, in such an effort ; but where a woman lacks either the 
health or the energy to secure a period for devotional du- 
ties before breakfast, let her select that hour of the day in 
which she will be least liable to interruption, and let her then 
seek strength and wisdom from the only true Source. At 
this time, let her take a pen, and make a list of all the 
things which she considers as duties. Then, let a calcula- 
tion be made, whether there be time enough, in the day or 
the week, for all these duties. If there be not, let the least 
important be stricken from the list, as not being duties, and 
therefore to be omitted. In doing this, let a woman remem- 
ber that, though " what we shall eat, and what we shall 
drink, and wherewithal we shall be clothed," are matters 
requiring due attention,- they are very apt to obtain a 
wrong relative importance, while intellectual, social, and 
moral interests receive too little regard. 

In this country, eating, dressing, and household furni- 
ture and ornaments, take far too large a place in the esti- 
mate of relative importance ; and it is probable that most 



202 JMPOETANCE OF EARLY CUSTOM. 



women could modify their views and practice, so as to come 
nearer to the Saviour's requirements. JSTo woman has a 
right to put a stitch of ornament on any article of dress or 
furniture, or to provide one superfluity in food, until she 
is sure she can secure time for all her social, intellectual, 
benevolent, and religious duties. If a woman will take the 
trouble to make such a calculation as this, she will usually 
find that she has time enough to perform all her duties 
easily and well. 

It is impossible for a conscientious woman to secure that 
peaceful mind and cheerful enjoyment of life which all 
should seek, who is constantly finding her duties jarring 
with each other, and much remaining undone, which she 
feels that she ought to do. In consequence of this, there 
will be a secret uneasiness, which will throw a shade over 
the whole current of life, never to be removed, till she so 
efficiently defines and regulates her duties that she can 
fulfill them all. 

And here the writer would urge upon young ladies the 
importance of forming habits of system, while unembar- 
rassed with those multiplied cares which will make the 
task so much more difficult and hopeless. Every young 
lady can systematize her pursuits, to a certain extent. She 
can have a particular day for mending her wardrobe, and 
for arranging her trunks, closets, and drawers. She can 
keep her work-basket, her desk at school, and all her other 
conveniences, in their proper places, and in regular order. 
She can have regular periods for reading, walking, visiting, 
study, and domestic pursuits. And by following this 
method in youth, she will form a taste for regularity and a 
habit of system, which will prove a blessing to her through 
life. 



XYin. 

GIVmG IN CHAEITY. 

It is probable that there is no point of duty whereon 
conscientious persons differ more in opinion, or where they 
find it more difficult to form discriminating and decided 
views, than on the matter of charity. That we are bound 
to give .some of our time, money, and efforts, to relieve the 
destitute, all allow. But, as to how much we are to give, 
and on whom our charities shall be bestowed, many a re- 
flecting mind has been at a loss. Yet it seems very desir- 
able that, in reference to a duty so constantly and so stren- 
uously urged by the Supreme Ruler, we should be able so 
to fix metes and bounds, as to keep a conscience void of 
offense, and to free the mind from disquieting fears of de- 
ficiency. 

The writer has found no other topic of investigation so 
beset with difficulty, and so absolutely without the range of 
definite rules which can apply to all, in all circumstances. 
But on this, as on previous topics, there seem to be general 
principleSy by the aid of which any candid mind, sincerely 
desirous of obeying the commands of Christ, however much 
self-denial may be involved, can arrive at definite conclu- 
sions as to its own individual obligations ; so that when 
these are fulfilled, the mind may be at peace. 

But for a mind that is worldly, living mainly to seek its 
own pleasures instead of living to please God, no principles 
can be so fixed as not to leave a ready escape from all obli- 
gation. Sucli minds, either by indolence (and consequent 
ignorance) or by sophistry, will convince themselves that a 
life of engrossing self-indulgence, with perhaps the gift of 
a few dollars and a few hours of time, may suffice to fulfill 
the requisitions of the Eternal Judge. 

For such minds, no reasonings will avail, till the heart is 



204 BENEVOLENCE, THE BEST AIM OF LIFE. 



SO changed that to learn the will and follow the example 
of Jesus Christ become the leading objects of interest and 
effort. It is to aid those who profess to possess this temper 
of iliind that the following suggestions are offered. 

The first consideration which gives definiteness to, this 
subject is a correct view of the object for which we are 
placed in this world. A great many, even of professed Chris- 
tians, seem to be acting on the supposition that the object 
of life is to secure as much as possible of all the various en- 
joyments placed within reach. ]^ot so teaches reason or 
revelation. From these we learn that, though the happi- 
ness of his creatures is the end for which God created and 
sustains them, yet this happiness depends not on the vari- 
ous modes of gratification put within our reach, but mainly 
on character, A man may possess all the resources for en- 
joyment which this world can afford, and yet feel that " all 
is vanity and vexation of spirit," and that he is supremely 
wretched. Another may be in want of all things, and yet 
possess that living spring of benevolence, faith, and hope, 
which will make an Eden of the darkest prison. 

In order to be perfectly happy, man must attain that 
character which Christ exhibited ; and the nearer he ap- 
proaches it, the more will happiness reign in his breast. 

But what was the grand peculiarity of the character of 
Christ ? It was self-denying henevolence. He came jiot to 
" seek his own ;" He " went about doing good," and this 
was his " meat and drink ;" that is, it was this which sus- 
tained the health and life of his mind, as food and drink 
sustain the health and life of the body. Kow, the mind of 
man is so made that it can gradually be transformed into 
the same likeness. A selfish being, who, for a whole life, 
has been nourishing habits of indolent self-indulgence, can, 
by taking Christ as his example, by communion with him, 
and by daily striving to imitate his character and conduct, 
form such a temper of mind that " doing good " will be- 
come the chief and highest source of enjoyment. And this 
heavenly principle will grow stronger and stronger, until 
self-denial loses the more painful part of its character ; and 
then, living to onahe happiness will be so delightful and 
absorbing a pursuit, that all exertions, regarded as the 
means to this end, will be like the joyous efforts of men 
when they strive for a prize or a crown, with the full hope 
of success. 



FORMATION OF A PERFECT CHARACTER. 205 



lu this view of the subject, efforts and self-denial for the 
good of others are to be regarded not merely as duties en- 
joined for the benefit of others, bnt as the moral training 
indispensable to the formation of that character on which 
depends onr own happiness. This view exhibits the full 
meaning of the Saviour's declaration, " How hardly shall 
they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God !" 
He had before taught that the kingdom of heaven consist- 
ed- not in such enjoyments as the worldly seek, but in 
the temper of self-denying benevolence, like his own ; and 
as the rich have far greater temptations to indolent self-in- 
dulgence, they are far less likely to acquire this temper than 
those who, by limited means, are inured to some degree of 
self-denial. 

But on this point, one important distinction needs to be 
made ; and that is, between the self-denial which has no 
other aim than mere self-mortification, and that which is 
exercised to secure greater good to ourselves and others. 
The first is the foundation of monasticism, penances, and 
all other forms of asceticism ; the latter, only, is that which 
Christianity requires. 

A second consideration, which may give definiteness to 
this subject, is, that the formation of a perfect character in- 
volves, not the extermination of any principles of our na- 
ture, but rather the regulating of them, according to the 
rules of reason and religion ; so that the lower propensities 
shall always be kept subordinate to nobler principles. Thus 
we are not to aim at destroying our appetites, or at need- 
lessly denying them, but rather so to regulate them that 
they shall best secure the objects for which they were im- 
planted. We are not to annihilate the love of praise and 
admiration ; but so to control it that the favor of God. shall 
be regarded more than the estimation of men. We are not 
to extirpate the principle of curiosity, which leads us to 
acquire knowledge ; but so to direct it, that all our acqui- 
sitions shall be useful and not frivolous or injurious. And 
thus with all the principles of the mind : God has implant- 
ed no desires in our » constitution which are evil and per- 
nicious. On the contrary, all our constitutional propensi- 
ties, either of mind or body, he designed we should grat- 
ify, whenever no evils would thence result, either to our- 
selves or others. Such passions as envy, selfish ambition, 
contemptuous pride, revenge, and hatred, are to be exter- 



206 NECESSITIES AND SUPEBFLTJITIES. 



minated ; for they are either excesses or excrescences, not 
created by God, but rather the result of our own neglect 
to form habits of benevolence and self-control. 

In deciding the rules of our conduct, therefore, we are 
ever to bear in mind that the development of the nobler 
principles, and the subjugation of inferior propensities to 
them, is to be the main object of effort both for ourselves 
and for others. And in conformity with this, in all our 
plans we are to place religious and moral interests as first 
in estimation, our social and intellectual interests next, and 
our physical gratifications as subordinate to all. 

A third consideration is that, though the means for sus- 
taining life and health are to be regarded as necessaries, 
without which no other duties can be performed, yet a very 
large portion of the time spent by most persons in easy 
circumstances for food, raiment, and dwellings, is for 
vdQYQ superfluities / which are right when -they do not in- 
volve the sacrifice of higher interests, and wrong when 
they do. Life and health can be sustained in the humblest 
dwellings, with the plainest dress, and the simplest food ; 
and, after taking from our means what is necessary for life 
and health, the remainder is to be so divided, that the 
larger portion shall be given to supply the moral and in- 
tellectual wants of ourselves and others, together with .the 
physical requirements of the destitute, and the smaller 
share to procure those additional gratifications of taste 
and appetite which are desirable but not indispensable. 
Mankind, thus far, have never made/ this apportionment 
of their means ; although, just as fast as they have risen 
from a savage state, mere physical wants have been made, 
to an increasing extent, subordinate to higher objects. 

Another very important consideration is that, in urging 
the duty of charity and the prior claims of moral and' re- 
ligious objects, no rule of duty should be maintained 
which it would not be right and wise for all to follow. 
And we are to test the wisdom of any general rule by in- . 
quiring what would be the result if all mankind should 
practice according to it. In view of ^his, we are enabled 
to judge of the correctness of those who maintain that, to 
be consistent, men believing in the perils of all those of our 
race who are not brought under the influence of the Chris- 
tian system should give up not merely the elegancies 
but all the superfluities of life, and devote the whole of ' 



NECESSITY OF SUPERFLUITIES. • 207 



their means not indispensable to life and health to the 
propagation of Christianity. 

But if this is the dnty of any, it is the dnty of all ; and 
we are to inquire what wonld be the result, if all con- 
scientious persons gave up the use of all superfluities. 
Suppose that two millions oi the people of the United 
States were conscientious persons, and relinquished the use 
of every thing not absolutely necessary to life and health. 
Besides reducing the education of the people in all the 
higher walks of intellectual, social, and even moral deve- 
lopment, to very narrow limits, it would instantly throw 
out of employment one half of the whole community. The 
writers, book-makers, manufacturers, mechanics, merchants, 
agriculturists, and all the agencies they employ, would be 
beggared, and one half of those not reduced to poverty 
would be obliged to spend all their extra means in simply 
supplying necessaries to the other half. The use .of super- 
fluities, therefore, to . a certain extent, is as indispensable 
to promote industry, virtue, and religion, as any direct 
giving of money or time ; and it is owing entirely to a 
want of reflection and of comprehensive views, that any 
men ever make so great a mistake as is here exhibited. 

Instead, then, of urging a rule of duty which is at once 
irrational and impracticable, there is another course, which 
commends itself to the understandings of all. For what- 
ever may be the practice of intelligent men, they univer- 
sally concede the principle, that our physical gratifications 
should always be made subordinate to social, intellectual, 
and moral advantages. And all that is required for the 
advancement of our whole race to the most perfect state 
of society is, simply, that men should act in agreement 
with this principle. And if only a very small portion of 
the most intelligent of our race should act according to 
this rule, under the control of Christian benevolence, the 
immense supplies furnished for the general good would be 
far beyond what any would imagine who had never made 
any calculations on the subject. In this nation alone, 
suppose the one million and more of professed followers 
of Christ should give a larger portion of their means for 
the social, intellectual, and moral wants of mankind, 
than for the superfluities that minister to their own taste, 
convenience, and appetite ; it would be enough to furnish 
all the schools, colleges. Bibles, ministers, and missionaries, 



20-8 ^ METHOD FOE ECONOMIZING. 



that the whole world conld demand ; or, at least, it would 
be far more than properly qualified agents to administer 
it could employ. • 

But it may be objected that, though this view in the 
abstract looks plausible and rational, not one in a thousand 
can practically adopt it. How few keep any account, at 
all, of their current expenses ! How impossible it is to de- 
termine, exactly, what are necessaries and what are super- 
fluities ! And in regard to women, how few have the con- 
trol of an income, so as not to be bound by the wishes of 
a parent or a husband ! 

In reference to these difficulties, the first remark is, that 
we are never under obligations to do what is entirely out 
of our power ; so that those persons who can not regu- 
late their expenses or their charities are under no sort of 
obligation to attempt it. The second remark is that, when 
a rule of duty is discovered, if we can not fully attain to it, 
we are bound to aim at it, and to fulfill it just so far as we 
can. We have no right to throw it aside because we shall 
• find some difficult cases when we come to apply it. The 
third remark is, that no person can tell how much can be 
done, till a faithful trial has been made. If a woman has 
never kept any accounts, nor attempted to regulate her 
expenditures by the right rule, nor used her influence with 
\ / those that control her ]3lans, to secure this object, she has 
^^ no right to say how much she can or can not do, till after 
a fair trial has been made. 

In attempting such a trial, the following method can be 
taken. Let a woman keep an account of all she spends, for 
herself and her family, for a year, arranging the items un- 
der three general heads. Under the first, put all articles 
of food, raiment, rent, wages, and all conveniences. Under 
the second, place all sums paid in securing an education, 
and books, and other intellectual advantages. Under the 
third head, place all that is spent for benevolence and re- 
ligion. At the end of the year, the first and largest ac- 
count will show the mixed items of necessaries and super- 
fluities, which can be arranged so as to gain some sort of 
idea how much has been spent for superfluities and how 
much for necessaries. Then, by comparing what is spent 
for superfluities, with what is spent for intellectual and 
moral advantages, data will be gained for judging of the 
past and regulating the future. 



CONSCIENTIOUS DISCRIMINATION! 209 



Does a woman say she can not do this ? let her think 
whether the offer of a thousand dollars, as a reward for at- 
tempting it one year, would not make her undertake to do 
it ; and if so, let her decide, in her own mind, which is 
most valuable, a clear conscience, and the approbation of 
God, in this effort to do his will, or one thousand dollars. 
And let her do it, with this warning of the Saviour before 
her eyes — " l^o man can serve two masters." " Ye can 
not serve God and Mammon." 

Is it objected. How can we decide between superfluities 
and necessities, in this list ? It is replied, that we are not 
required to judge exactly, in all cases. Our duty is, to use 
the means in oar power to assist us in forming a correct 
judgment ; to seek the divine aid in freeing our minds 
from indolence and selfishness ; and then to judge, as well 
as we can, in our endeavors rightly to apportion and regu- 
late our expenses. Many persons seem to feel that they 
are bound to do better than they know how. But God is 
not so hard a master ; and after we have used all proper 
means to learn the right way, if we then follow it accord- 
ing to our ability, we do wrong to feel misgivings, or to 
blame ourselves, if results come out differently from what 
seems desirable. 

The results of our actions, alone, can never prove us de- 
serving of blame. For men are often so placed that, owing 
to lack of intellect or means, it is impossible for them to 
decide correctly. To use all the means of knowledge with- 
in our reach, and then to judge, with a candid and con- 
scientious spirit, is all that God requires ; and when we 
have done this, and the event seems to come out wrong, 
we should never wish that we had decided otherwise. For 
this would be the same as wishing that we had not fol- 
lowed the dictates of judgment and conscience. As this 
is a world designed for discipline and trial, untoward 
events are never to be construed as indications of the ob- 
liquity of our past decisions. 

• But it is probable that a great portion of the women of 
this nation can not secure any such systematic mode of re- 
gulating their expenses. To such, the writer would pro- 
pose one inquiry : Can not you calculate how much time 
and money you spend for what is merely ornamental, and 
not necessary, for yourself, your childi'en, and your house ? 
Can not you compare this with the time and money on 



210 GENERAL PBINCIPLES FOR JUDGING. 



spend for intellectual and benevolent purposes ? and will 
not this show the need of some change ? In making this 
examination, is not this brief rule, deducible from the 
principles before laid down, the one which should regulate 
you ? Every person does right in spending some portion 
of time and means in securing the conveniences and adorn- 
ments of taste ; but the amount should never exceed what 
is spent in securing our own moral and intellectual im- 
provement, nor what is spent in benevolent efforts to sup- 
ply the physical and moral wants of our fellow-men. 

In making an examination on this subject, it is some- 
times the case that a woman will count among the neces- 
saries of life all the various modes of adorning the person 
or house, practiced in the circle in which she moves ; and, 
after enumerating the many duties which demand atten- 
tion, counting these as a part, she will come to the conclu- 
sion that she has no time, and but little money, to devote 
to personal improvement or to benevolent enterprises. 
This surely is not in agreement with the requirements of 
the Saviour, who calls on us to seek for others, as well as 
ourselves, first of all^ " the kingdom of God, and his right- 



eousness." 



In order to act in accordance with the rule here pre- 
sented, it is true that many would be obliged to give up 
the idea of conforming to the notions and customs of those 
with whom they associate, and compelled to adopt the 
maxim, " Be not conformed to this world." In many cases, 
it would involve an entire change in the style of living. 
And the writer has the happiness of knowing more cases 
than one, where persons who have come to similar views 
on this subject, have given up large and expensive estab- 
lishments, disposed of their carriages, dismissed a portion 
of their domestics, and modified all their expenditures, 
that they might keep a pure conscience, and regulate their 
charities more according to the requirements of Christian- 
ity. And there are persons, well known in the religioue 
world, who save themselves all labor of minute calculation, 
by devoting so large a portion of their time and means to 
benevolent objects, that they find no difficulty in knowing 
that they give more for religious, benevolent,' and intellec- 
tual purposes than for superfluities. 

In deciding what particular objects shall receive our 
benefactions, there are also general principles to guide us. 



SPIRITUAL EATHEB THAN PHYSICAL CHABITY. 211 



The first is tliat presented bj our Saviour, when, after 
urging the great law of benevolence, he was asked, " And 
who is my neighbor ?" His reply, in the parable of " the 
Good Samaritan," teaches us that any human being whose 
wants are brought to our knowledge is our neighbor. The 
wounded man in that parable was not only a stranger, but 
he belonged to a foreign nation, peculiarly hated ; and he 
had no claim, except that his wants were brought to the 
knowledge of the wayfaring man. From this we learn 
that the destitute of all nations become our neighbors, as 
soon as their wants are brought to our knowledge. 

Another general principle is this, that those who are most 
in need naust be relieved in preference to those who are 
less destitute. On this principle it is, that we think the 
followers of Christ should give more to supply those who 
are suffering for want of the bread of eternal life, than for 
those who are deprived of physical enjoyments. And an- 
other reason for this preference is the fact that many who 
give in charity have made such imperfect advances in civil- 
ization and Christianity that the intellectual and moral 
-wants of our race make but a feeble impression on the mind. 
Relate a pitiful tale of a family reduced to live for weeks 
on potatoes only, and many a mind would awake to deep 
sympathy and stretch forth the hand of charity. But de- 
scribe cases where the immortal mind is pining in stupidity 
and ignorance, or racked with the fever of baleful passions, 
and how small the number so elevated in sentiment and 
so enlarged in their views as to appreciate and sympathize 
in these far greater misfortunes ! The intellectual and 
moral wants of our fellow-men, therefore, should claim the 
first place in general Christian attention, both because they 
are most important, and because they are most neglected ; 
while it should not be forgotten, in giving personal atten- 
tion to the wants of the poor, that the relief of immediate 
physical distress, is often the easiest way of touching the 
moral sensibilities of the destitute. 

Another consideration to be borne in mind is that, in 
this country, there is much less real need of charity in 
supj)lying physical necessities than is generally supposed 
by those who have not learned the more excellent way. 
This land is so abundant in supplies, and labor is in such 
demand, that every healthy person can earn a comfortable 
support. And if all the poor were instantly made virtuous. 



212 ASSOCIATED CHARITIES. 



it is probable that there would be few physical wants 
which could not readily be supplied by the immediate 
friends of each sufferer. The sick, the aged, and the orphan 
would be the only objects of charity. In this view of the 
case, the primary effort in relieving the poor should be to 
furnish them the means of earning their own support, and 
to supply theril with those moral influences which are most 
effectual in securing virtue and industry. 

Another point to be attended to is the importance of 
maintaining a system of associated charities. There is no 
point in which the economy of charity has more improved 
than in the present mode of combining many small contri- 
butions, for sustaining enlarged and systematic plans of 
charity. If all the half-dollars which are now contributed 
to aid in organized systems of charity were returned to the 
donors, to be applied by the agency and discretion of each, 
thousands and thousands of the treasures, now employed to 
promote the moral and intellectual wants of mankind, 
would become entirely useless. In a democracy like ours, 
where few are very rich and the majority are in comfort- 
able circumstances, this collecting and dispensing of drops 
and rills is the mode by which, in imitation of nature, 
the dews and showers are to distill on parched and desert 
lands. And every person, while earning a pittance to unite 
with many more, may be cheered with the consciousness of 
sustaining a grand system of operations. which must have 
the most decided influence in raising all mankind to that 
perfect state of society which Christianity is designed to 
bring about. 

Another consideration relates to the indiscriminate be- 
stowal of charity. Persons who have taken pains to inform 
themselves, and who devote their whole time to dispensing 
charities, unite in declaring that this is one of the most fruit- 
ful sources of indolence, vice, and poverty. From several 
of these the writer has learned that, by their own personal 
investigations, they have ascertained that there are large 
establishments of idle and wicked persons in most of our 
cities, who associate together to support themselves by 
every species of imposition. They hire large houses, and 
live in constant rioting on the means thus obtained. Among 
them are women who have or who hire the use of infant 
children ; others, who are blind, or maimed, or deformed, or 
who can adroitly feign such infirmities ; and, by these 



SYSTEMATIC BEGGINQ, 213 



means of exciting pity, and by artful tales of woe, they col- 
lect alms, both in city and country, to spend in all manner 
of gross and guilty indulgences. Meantime, many persons, 
finding themselves often duped by impostors, refuse to give 
at all ; and thus many benefactions are withdrawn, which 
a wise economy in charity would have secured. For this 
and other reasons, it is wise and merciful to adopt the gen- 
eral rule, never to give alms till we have had some oppor- 
tunity of knowing how they will be spent. There are ex- 
ceptions to this, as to every general rule, which a person 
of discretion can determine. But the practice so common 
among benevolent persons, of giving at least a trifie to all 
who ask, lest perchance they may turn away some who are 
really sufferers, is one which causes more sin and misery, 
than it cures. 

The writer has never known any system for dispensing 
charity so successful as the one by which a town or city is 
divided into districts ; and each district is committed to the 
care of two ladies, whose duty it is, to call on each family 
and leave a book for a child, or do some other deed of neigh- 
borly kindness, and make that the occasion for entering into 
conversation, and learning the situation of all residents in 
the district. By this method, the ignorant, the vicious, and 
the poor are discovered, and their physical, intellectual, and 
moral wants are investigated. In some places where the 
writer has known this mode pursued, each person retained 
the same district, year after year, so that every poor family in 
the place was under the watch and care of some intelligent 
and benevolent lady, who used all her influence to secure a 
proper education for the children, to furnish them with suit- 
able reading, to encourage habits of industry and economy, 
. and to secure regular attendance on public religious in- 
struction. Thus, the rich and the poor were brought in 
contact, in a way advantageous to both parties ; and if such 
a system could be universally adopted, more would be done 
for the prevention of poverty and vice than all the wealth 
of the nation could avail for their relief. But this plan can 
not be successfully carried out, in this manner, unless there 
is a large proportion of intelligent, benevolent, and self- 
denying persons, who unite in a systematic plan. 

But there is one species of " charity " which needs espe- 
cial consideration. It is that spirit of kindly love which 
induces us to refrain from judging of the means and the rela- 



214 INDIVIDUAL EE8P0NSIBILITT. 



tive charities of other persons. There have been such in- 
distinct notions, and so many different standards of duty, 
on this subject, that it is rare for twp persons to think ex- 
actly ahke, in regard to the rule of duty. Each person is 
bound to inquire and judge for himself, as to his own duty 
or deficiencies ; but as botli the resources and the amount of 
the actual charities of others are beyond our ken, it is as 
indecorous as it is uncharitable to sit in judgment on their 
decisions. 



XIX. 

ECONOMY OF TIME AND EXPENSES. 

The value of time, and oiir obligation to spend every hour 
for some useful end, are what few minds properly realize. 
And those who have the highest sense of their obligations 
in this respect, sometimes greatly misjudge in their estimate 
of what are useful and proper modes of employing time. 
This arises from limited views of the importance of some 
pui'suits, which they would deem frivolous and useless, but 
which are in reality necessary to preserve the health of body 
and mind and those social affections which it is very im- 
portant to cherish. 

Christianity teaches that, for all the time afforded us, we 
must give account to God ; and that we have no right to 
waste a single hour. But time which is spent in rest or 
amusement is often as usefully employed as if it were de- 
voted to labor or devotion. In employing our time, we are 
to make suitable allowance for sleep, for preparing and tak- 
ing food, for securing the means of a livelihood, for intel- 
lectual improvement, for exercise and amusement, for social 
enjoyments, and for benevolent and religious duties. And 
it is the right wpjportionment of time, to these various duties, 
which constitutes its true economy. 

In deciding respecting the rectitude of our pursuits, we are 
bound to aim at some practical good, as the ultimate object. 
With ever}^ duty of this life, our benevolent Creator has 
connected some species of enjoyment, to draw us to perform 
it. Thus, the palate is gratified, by performing the duty of 
hourishing our bodies ; the principle of curiosity is gratified 
in pursuing useful knowledge ; the desire of approbation is 
gratified, when we perform general social duties ; and every 
other duty has an alluring enjoyment connected with it. 
But the great mistake of mankind has consisted in seeking 
the pleasures connected with these duties, as the sole aim, 
without reference to the main end that should be held in 



216 V JEWISH RULES OF LIVING. 




view, and to whicli the enjoyment should be made subser- 
vient. Thus, men gratify the palate, without reference to 
the question whether the body is properly nourished : and 
follow after knowledge, withojit inquiring whether it min- 
isters to good or evil ; and seek amusement without refer- 
ence to results. 

In gratifying the implanted desires of our nature, we are 
bound so to restrain ourselves, by reason and conscience, as * 
always to seek the main objects of existence — the highest 
good of ourselves and others ; and never to sacrifice this for 
the mere gratification of our desires. We are to gratify appe- 
tite, just so far as is consistent with health and usefulness ; 
and the desire for knowledge, just so far as will enable us 
to do most good by our influence and eflbrts ; and no farther. 
"We are to seek social intercourse, to that extent which will 
best promote domestic enjoyment and kindly feelings among 
neighbors and friends ; and we are to pursue exercise and 
amusement, only so far as will best sustain the vigor of body 
and mind. 

The laws of the Supreme Kuler, when he became the 
civil as well as the religious Head of the Jewish theocracy, 
JTurnish an example which it would be well for all atten- 
tively to consider, when forming plans for the apportion- 
ment of time and property. To properly estimate this ex- 
ample, it must be borne in mind, that the main object of 
God was, to set an example of the temporal rewards that 
follow obedience to the laws of the Creator, and at the 
same time to prepare religious teachers to extend the 'true 
religion to the whole race of man. 

Before Christ came, the Jews were not required to go 
forth to other nations as teachers of religion, nor were the 
Jewish nation led to obedience by motives of a life to 
come. To them God was revealed, both as a father and a 
civil ruler, and obedience to laws relating solely to this 
life was all that was required. So low were they in the 
scale of civilization and mental development, that a sys- 
tem which confined them to one spot, as an agricultural 
people, and prevented their growing very rich, or having 
extensive commerce with other nations, was indispensable 
to prevent their relapsing into the low idolatries and vices 
of the nations around them, while temporal rewards and 
penalties were more eflective than those of a life to 
come. 



JEWISH APPORTIONMENT OF TIME, ETC. 217 



Tlie proportion of time and property, whicli every Jew 
was required to devote to intellectual, benevolent, and re- 
ligious purposes, was as follows : 

In regard to property, they were required to give one 
tenth of all their yearly income to support the Levites, the 
priests, and the religious service. JSText, they were required 
to give the first-fruits of all their corn, wine, oil, and fruits, 
and the first-born of all their cattle, for the Lord's treasury, 
to be employed for the priests, the widow, the fatherless, 
and the stranger. The first-born, also, of their children, 
were the Lord's, and were to be redeemed by a specified 
sum, paid into, the sacred. treasury. Besides this, they were 
required to bring a free-will offering to God, every time they 
went up to the three great yearly festivals. Li addition to this, 
regular yearly sacrifices of cattle and fowls were required 
of each family, and occasional sacrifices for certain sins or 
ceremonial impurities. In reaping their fields, they were 
required to leave unreaped, for the poor, the corners ; not 
to glean their fields, oliveyards, or vineyards ; and, if a 
sheaf was left by mistake, they were not to return for it 
but leave it for the poor. 

One twelfth of the people were set apart, having no land- 
ed property, to be priests and teachers ; and the other 
tribes were required to support them liberally. 

In regard to the time taken from secular pursuits, for the 
support of education and religion, an equally liberal 
amount was demanded. In the first place, one seventh 
part of their time was taken for the weekly sabbath, when 
no kind of work was to be done. Then the whole nation 
were required to meet at the appointed place three times 
a year, which, including their journeys and stay there, oc- 
cupied eight weeks, or another seventh part of their time. 
Then the sabbatical year, when no agricultural labor was 
to be done, took another seventh of their time from their 
regular pursuits, as they were an agricultural people. This 
was the amount of time and property demanded by God, 
simply to sustain education, religion, and morality within 
the bounds of one nation. 

It was premised to this nation and falfilled by constant 
miraculous interpositions, that in this life, -obedience 
to God's laws should secure health, peace, prosperity, 
and long life ; while for disobedience was threatened war, 
pestilence, famine, and all temporal evils. These promises 



218 FREEDOM BROUGHT THROUGH CHRIST. 



were constantly verified, and in the day of Solomon, wlien 
this nation was most obedient, the whole world was moved 
with wonder at its wealth and prosperity. But up to this 
time, no attempt was made by God to govern the Israelites 
by the rewards and penalties of the world to come. 

But "when the fullness of time had come," and the race 
of man was prepared to receive higher responsibilities, 
Jesus Christ came and " brought life and immortality to 
light " with a clearness never before revealed. At the 
same time was revealed the fatherhood of God, not to the Jews 
alone, but to the whole human race, and the consequent 
brotherhood of man ; and these revelations in many respects 
changed the whole standard of duty and obligation. 

Christ came as " God manifest in the flesh," to set an 
example of self-sacrificing love, in rescuing the whole 
family of man from the dangers of the unseen world, and 
also to teach and train his disciples through all time to fol- 
low his example. And those who conform the most consis- 
tently to his teachings and example will aim at a standard of 
labor and self-denial far beyond that demanded of the Jews. 

It is not always that men understand the economy of 
Providence, in that unequal distribution of property which, 
even under the most perfect form of government, will always 
exist. Many, looking at the present state of things, ima- 
gine that the rich, if they acted in strict conformity to the 
law of benevolence, would share all their property with their 
sufiering fellow-men. But such do not take into account the 
inspired declaration that " a man's life consist eth not in the 
abundance of the things which he possesseth," or, in other 
words, life is made valuable, not by great possessions, but 
by such a character as prepares a man to enjoy what he 
holds. God perceives that human character can be. most 
improved by that kind of discipline which exists when there 
is something valuable to be gained by industrious efforts. 
This stimulus to industry could never exist in a communi- 
ty where all are just alike, as it does in a state of society 
where every man sees .possessed by others enjoyments 
which he desires and may secure by effort and industry. 
So, in a community where all are alike as to property, 
there would be no chance to gain that noblest of all attain- 
ments, a habit of self-denying benevolence which toils for the 
good of others, and takes from one's own store to increase 
the enjoyments of another. 



TEE DISTEIBUTION OF PEOPERTY. 219 



Instead, tlien, of tlie stagnation, both of indnstry and of 
benevolence, wbich wonld follow the nniversal and eqna- 
ble distribution of property, some men, by superior ad- 
vantages of birth, or intellect, or patronage, come into pos- 
session of a great amount of capital. W ith these means 
they are enabled, by study, reading, and travel, to secure 
expansion of mind and just views of the relative advantages 
of moral, intellectual, and physical enjoyments. At the 
same time, Christianity imposes obligations corresponding 
with the increase of advantages and means. The rich are 
not at liberty to spend their treasures chiefly for themselves. 
Their wealth is given, by God, to be employed for the best 
good of mankind ; and their intellectual advantages are de- 
signed, primarily, to enable them to judge correctly in em- 
ploying their means most wisely for the general good. 

iJow, suppose a man of wealth inherits ten thousand 
acres of real estate ; it is not his duty to divide it among 
his poor neighbors and tenants. If he took this course, 
it is probable that most of them would spend all in thrift- 
less waste and indolence, or in mere physical enjoyments. 
Instead, then, of thus putting his capital out of his hands, 
he is bound to retain and so to employ it as to raise his 
amily and his neighbors to such a state of virtue and in- 
telligence, that they can secure far more, by their own ef- 
forts and industry, than he, by dividing his capital, could 
bestow upon them. 

In this view of the subject, it is manifest that the unequal 
distribution of property is no evil. The great difficulty is, 
that so large a portion of those who hold much capital, in- 
stead of using their various advantages for the greatest 
good of those around them, employ them for mere selfish 
indulgences ; thus inflicting as much mischief on themselves 
as results to others from their culpable neglect. A great 
portion of the rich seeni to be acting on the principle 
that the more God bestows on them, the less are they un- 
der obligation to practice any self-denial in fulfilling his 
benevolent plan of raising our race to intelligence and virtue. 

But there are cheering examples of the contrary spirit* 
and prejudice, some of which will be here recorded to 
influence and encourage others. 

A lady of great wealth, high position, and "elegant 
culture in one of our large cities hired and furnished a 
house adjacent to her own, and, securing the aid of another 



220 BENEVOLENCE AMONG THE WEALTHY. 



benevolent and cultivated woman, took twelve orphan girls, 
of different ages, and educated them under their joint care. 
ISTot only time and money were given, but love and labor, 
just as if these were their own children ; and as fast as one 
was provided for, another was taken. 

In another city, a young lady with property of her own 
hired a house and made it a home for homeless and unpro- 
tected women, who paid board when they could earn it, and 
found a refuge when out of employment. 

In another city, the wife of one of its richest merchants, 
living in princely style, took two young girls from the cer- 
tain road to ruin among the vicious poor. She boarded 
them with a respectable farmer, and sent them to school, 
and every week went out, not only to supervise them, but 
to aid in training them to habits of neatness, industry, and 
obedience, just as if they were her own children. IS^ext, 
she hired a large house near the most degraded part of 
the city, furnished it neatly and with all suitable conveni- 
ences to work, and then rented to those among the most 
degraded whom she could bring to conform to a few simple 
rules of decency, industry, and benevolence— one of these 
rules being that they should pay her the rent every Satur- 
day night. To this motley gathering she became chief 
counselor and friend, quieted their brawls, taught them to 
aid each other in trouble or sickness, and strove to introduce 
among them that law of patient love and kindness, illustra- 
ted by her own example. The young girls in this tenement 
she assembled every Saturday at her own house — taught 
them to sing, heard them recite their Sunday-school lessons, 
to be sure these were properly learned ; taught them to make 
and mend their own clothing, trimmed their bonnets, and 
took charge of their Sunday dress, that it might always 
be in order. Of course, such benevolence drew a stream of 
ignorance and misery to her door ; and so successful was 
her labor that she hired a second house, and managed it on 
the same plan. One hot day in August, a friend found her 
combing the head of a poor, ungainly, foreign girl. She had 
persuaded a friend to take her from compassion, and she 
was retm'ned because her head was in such in a state. 
Finding no one else to do it, the lady herself bravely met 
the dilficulty, and persevered in this daily ministry till the 
evil was remedied, and the poor girl thus secured a comfor- 
table home and wages. 



GIVING ON EABTH, ECONOMY FOB HEAVEN. 221 



A joung lady of wealth and position, with great musical 
culture and taste, found among the poor two young girls* 
with fine voices and great musical talent. Gaining her pa- 
rents' consent, the young lady took one of them home, trained 
her in music, and saw that her school education was secured, 
so that when expensive masters and instruments were need- 
ed the girl herself earned the money required, as a gover- 
ness in a family of wealthy friends. Then she aided the 
sister ; and, as the result, one of them is married happily 
to a man of great wealth, and the other is receiving a large 
income as a popular musical artist. 

Another young girl, educated as a fine musician by her 
wealthy parents, at the age of sixteen was afflicted with 
weak eyes and a heart complaint. She strove to solace her- 
self by benevolent ministries. By teaching music to chil- 
dren of wealthy friends she earned the means to relieve and 
instruct the suffering, ignorant, and poor. 

These examples may suffice to show that, even among the 
most wealthy, abundant modes of self-denying benevolence 
may be found where there is a heart to seek them. 

There is no direction in which a true Christian economy 
of time and money is more conspicuous than in the style 
of living adopted in the family state. 

Those who build stately mansions, and lay out extensive 
grounds, and multiply the elegancies of life, to be enjoyed 
by themselves and a select few, " have their reward" in the 
enjoyments that end in this life. But those who with 
equal means adopt a style that enables them largely to devote 
time and wealth to the elevation and improvement of their 
fellow-men, are laying up never-failing treasures in heaven. 



XX, 

HEALTH OF MESTD. 

There is snch an intimate connection between the body 
and mind that the health of one can not be preserved with- 
out a proper care of the other. And it is from a neglect of 
this principle, that some of the most exemplary and con- 
scientious persons in the world suffer a thousand mental 
agonies from a diseased state of body, while others ruin the 
health of the body by neglecting the proper care of the 
mind. 

When the mind is excited by earnest intellectual effort, or 
by strong passions, the blood rushes to the head and the 
brain is excited. Sir Astley Cooper records that, in exam- 
ining the brain of a young nian who had lost a portion of 
his skull, whenever " he was agitated by some opposition 
to his wishes," " the blood was sent with increased force to 
his brain," and the pulsations " became frequent and vio- 
lent." The same effect was produced by any intellectual ef- 
fort ; and the flushed countenance which attends earnest 
study or strong emotions of interest of any kind, is an ex- 
ternal indication of the suffused state of the brain from 
such causes. 

In exhibiting the causes which injure the health of the 
mind, we shall find them to be partly physical, partly intel- 
lectual, and partly moral. 

The first cause of mental disease and suffering is not un- 
frequently in the want of a proper supply of duly oxygen- 
ized blood. It has been shown that the blood, in passing 
through the lungs, is purified by the oxygen of the air com- 
bining with the superabundant hydrogen and carbon of the 
venous blood, thus forming carbonic acid and water^ which 
are expired into the atmosphere. Every pair of lungs is 
constantly withdrawing from the surrounding atmosphere 
its heathful principle, and returning one which is injurious 
to human life. 



TEE BRAIN INJURED BY FOTJL AIR. 223 



"When, by confinement and this process, the air is depriv- 
ed of its appropriate supply of oxygen, the purification of the 
blood is interrupted, and it passes without being properly 
prepared into the brain, producing languor, restlessness, and 
inability to exercise the intellect and feelings. Whenever, 
therefore, persons sleep in a close apartment, or remain for 
a length of time in a crowded or ill-ventilated room, a most 
pernicious influence is exerted on the brain, and, through 
this, on the mind. A person who is often exposed to such 
influences can never enjoy that elasticity and vigor of mind 
which is one of the chief indications of its health. This is 
the reason why all rooms for religious meetings, and all 
school-rooms and sleeping apartments should be so contrived 
as to secure a constant supply of fresh air from without. 
The minister who preaches in a crowded and ill-ventilated 
apartment loses much of his power to feel and to speak, 
while the audience are equally reduced in their capability of 
attending. The teacher who confines children in a close 
apartment diminishes th§ir ability to study, or to attend to 
instructions. And the person who habitually sleeps in a 
close room impairs mental energy in a similar degree. It is 
not unfrequently the case that depression of spirits and 
stupor of intellect are occasioned solely by inattention to 
this subject. 

Another cause of mental disease is the excessive exer- 
cise of the intellect or feelings. If the eye is taxed beyond 
its strength by protracted use, its blood-vessels become 
gorged, and the bloodshot appearance warns of the excess 
and the need of rest. The brain is afi'ected in a similar 
manner by excessive use, though the suffering and inflamed 
organ can not make its appeal to the eye. But there are 
some indications which ought never to be misunderstood 
or disregarded. In cases of pupils at school or at college, 
a diseased state, from over-action, is often manifested by 
increased clearness of mind, and temporary ease and vigor 
of mental action. In one instance, known to the writer, a 
most exemplary and industrious pupil, anxious to improve 
every hour and ignorant or unmindful of the laws of 
health, first manifested the diseased state of her brain and 
mind by demands for more studies, and a sudden and earn- 
est activity in planning modes of improvement for herself 
and others. When warned of her danger, she protested 
that she never was better in her life ; that she took re- 



224 EXCEB8IVE EMOTION INJUElOIfS. 



gular exercise in the open air, went to bed in season, slept 
^sonndly, and. felt perfectly well ; that her mind was never 
before so bright and clear, and study never so easy and 
delightful. And at this time, she was on the verge of 
derangement, from which she was saved only by an en- 
tire cessation of all intellectual efforts, 

A similar case occurred, under the eye of the writer, 
from over-excited feelings. It was during a time of un- 
usual religious interest in the community, and the mental 
disease was first manifested by the pupil bringing her 
hymn-book or Bible to the class-room, and making it her 
constant resort, in every interval of school duty. It finally 
became impossible to convince her that it was her duty to 
attend to any thing else ; her conscience became morbidly 
sensitive, her perceptions indistinct, her deductions un- 
reasonable ; and nothing but entire change of scene and 
exercise, and occupation of her mind by amusement, saved 
her. When the health of the brain was restored, she 
found that she could attend to the " one thing needful," 
not only witliout interruption of duty or injury to health, 
but rather so as to promote both. Clergymen and teachers 
need most carefully to notice and guard against the dan- 
gers here alluded to. 

Any such attention to religion as prevents the perform- 
ance of daily duties and needful relaxation is dangerous, 
and tends to produce such a state of the brain as makes 
it impossible to feel or judge correctly. And when any 
morbid and unreasonable pertinacity appears, much exer- 
cise and engagement in other interesting pursuits should 
be urged, as the only mode of securing the religious bene- 
fits aimed at. And whenever any mind is oppressed with 
care, anxiety, or sorrow, the amount of active exercise in 
the fresh air should be greatly increased, that the action 
of the muscles may withdraw the blood which, in such 
seasons, is constantly tending too much to the brain. 

There has been a most appalling amouAt of suftering, 
derangement, disease, and death, occasioned by a want of 
attention to this subject, in teachers and parents. Un- 
common precocity in children is usually the result of an 
unhealthy state of the brain ; and in such cases medical 
men would now direct that the wonderful child should be 
deprived of all books and study, and turned to play out in 
the fresh air. Instead of this, parents frequently add fuel 



EXCESSIVE MENTAL ACTION DANGEBOUS. 225 



to the fever of tlie brain, by supplying constant mental 
stimulus, until the victim finds refuge in idiocy or an early 
grave. Where such fatal results do not occur, the brain 
in many cases is so weakened that the prodigy of infancy 
sinks below the medium of intellectual powers in after- 
life. 

In our colleges, too, many of the most promising minds 
sink to an early grave, or drag out a miserable existence, 
from this same cause. And it is an evil as yet little alle- 
viated by the increase of physiological knowledge. Every 
college and professional school, and every seminary for 
young ladies, needs a medical man or woman, not only to 
lecture on physiology and the laws of health, but empow- 
ered by o&cial capacity to investigate the case of every 
pupil, and, by authority, to enforce such a course of 
study, exercise, and repose as the physical system requires. 
The writer has found by experience that in a large institu- 
tion there is one class of pupils who need to be restrained 
by penalties from late hours and excessive study, as much 
as another class need stimulus to industry. 

Under the head of excessive mental action, must be 
placed the indulgence of the imagination in novel-reading 
and '' castle-building." This kind of stimulus, unless coun- 
terbalanced by physical exercise, not only wastes time and 
energies, but undermines the vigor of the nervous system. 
The imagination was designed by our wise Creator as a 
charm and stimulus to animate to benevolent activity; 
and its perverted exercise seldom fails to bring a penalty. 

Another cause of mental disease is the want of the ap- 
propriate exercise of the various faculties of the mind. On 
this point. Dr. Combe remarks ; " We have seen that, by 
disuse, muscles become emaciated, bone softens, blood-ves- 
sels are obliterated, and nerves lose their characteristic 
structure. The brain is no exception to this general rule. 
The tone of it is also impaired by permanent inactivity, 
and it becomes less fit to manifest the mental powers with 
readiness and energy." It is "the withdi'awal of the 
stimulus necessary for its healthy exercise which renders 
solitary confinement so severe a punishment, even to the 
most daring minds. It is a low^er degree of the same cause 
which renders continuous seclusion from society so inju- 
rious to both mental and bodily health." 

" Inactivity of intellect and of feeling is a very frequent 



226 MENTAL SLOTH TENDS TO DISEASE. 



predisposing cause of every form of nervous disease. For 
demonstrative evidence of this position, we have only to 
look at the numerous victims to be found among persons 
who have no call to exertion in gaining the means of sub- 
sistence, and no objects of interest on which to exercise 
their mental faculties, and who consequently sink into 
. a state of mental sloth and nervous weakness." ^' If we 
look abroad upon society, we shall find innumerable exam- 
ples of mental and nervous debility from this cause. "When 
a person of some mental capacity is confined for a long 
time to an unvarying round of employment which affords 
neither scope nor stimulus for one half of the faculties, and, 
from want of education or society, has ho external re- 
sources ; the mental powers, for want of exercise, become 
blunted, and the perceptions slow and dull." " The intel- 
lect and feelings, not being provided with interests external 
to themselves, must either become inactive and weak, or 
work upon themselves and become diseased." 

" The most, frequent victims of this kind of predisposi- 
tion are females of the middle and higher ranks, especially 
those of a nervous constitution and good natural abilities ; 
but who, from an ill-directed education, possess nothing 
more solid than mere accomplishments, and have no ma- 
terials for thought," and no " occupation to excite interest 
or demand attention." " The liability of such persons to 
melancholy, hysteria, hypochondriasis, and other varieties 
of mental distress, really depends on a state of irritability 
of the brain, induced by imperfect exercise." 

These remarks of a medical man illustrate the principles 
before indicated ; namely, that the demand of Christianity, 
that we live to promote the general happiness, and not 
merely for selfish indulgence, has for its aim not only the 
general good, but the highest happiness of the individual 
of whom it is required, in offering abundant exercise for 
all the noblest faculties. 

A person possessed of wealth, who has nothing more 
noble to engage attention than seeking personal enjoy- 
ment, subjects the mental powers and moral feelings to a 
degree of inactivity utterly at war with health and mind. 
And the greater the capacities, the greater are the suffer- 
ings which result from this cause. Any one who has read 
the misanthropic wailings of Lord Byron has seen the ne- 
cessary result of great and noble powers bereft of their ap- 



TEE ACTIVE MIND NEEDS AN OBJECTIVE. 227 



propriate exercise, and, in consequence, becoming sonrces 
of the keenest suffering. 

It is this view of the subject which has often awakened 
feelings of sorrow and anxiety in the mind of the writer, 
while aiding in the development and education of superior 
feminine minds, in the wealthier circles. !N^ot because there 
are not noble objects for interest and effort, abundant, and 
within reach of such minds ; but because long-established 
custom has made it seem so quixotic to the majority, even 
of the professed followers of Christ, for a woman of wealth 
to practice any great self-denial, that few have independence 
of mind and Christian principle sufficient to overcome such 
an influence. The more a mind has its powers developed, 
the more does it aspire and pine after some object worthy 
of its energies and affections ; and they are commonplace 
and phlegmatic characters who are most free from such 
deep-seated wants. Many a young woman, of fine genius 
and elevated sentiment, finds a charm in Lord Byron's 
writings, because they present a glowing picture of what, 
to a certain extent, must be felt by every well-developed 
mind which has no nobler object in life than the pursuit 
of self-gratification. 

If young ladies of wealth could pursue their education 
under the mil conviction that the increase of their powers 
and advantages increased their obligations to use all for 
the good of society, and with some plan of benevolent en- 
terprise in viev»^, what new motives of interest would be 
added to their daily pursuits ! And what blessed results 
would follow to our beloved country, if all well-educated 
women carried out the principles of Christianity, in the 
exercise of their developed powers ! 

The benevolent activities called forth in our late dread- 
ful war illustrate the blessed influence on character and 
happiness in having a noble object for which to labor and 
suffer. In illustration of this, may be mentioned the ex- 
perience of one of the noble women who, in a sickly cli- 
mate and fervid season, devoted herself to the ministries 
of a military hospital. Separated from an adored hus- 
band, deprived of wonted comforts and luxuries, and toil- 
ing in humble and unwonted labors, she yet recalls this as 
one of the happiest periods of her life. And it was not the 
mere exercise of benevolence and piety in ministering 
comfort and relieving suffering. It was, still more, the ele- 



228 EIGH CULTIVATION DEMANDS FEOPEB EXERCISE. 



vated enjoyment which only an enlarged and cultivated 
mind can attain, in the inspirations of grand and far-reach- 
ing results purchased by such sacrifice and suffering. It 
was in aiding to save her well-loved country from impend- 
ing ruin, and to preserve to coming generations the bless- 
ings of true liberty and self-government, that toils and 
suffering became triumphant joys. 

Every Christian woman who " walks by faith and not by 
sight," who looks forward to the results of self-sacrificing 
labor for the ignoran,t and sinful as they will enlarge and 
expand through everlasting ages, may rise to the same ele- 
vated sphere of experience and happiness. 

On the contrary, the more highly cultivated the mind 
devoted to mere selfish enjoyment, the more are the sources 
of true happiness closed and the soul left to helpless empti- 
ness and unrest. 

The indications of a diseased mind, owing to the want 
of the proper exercise of its powers, are apathy, discon- 
tent, a restless longing for excitement, a craving for unat- 
tainable good, a diseased and morbid action of the imagi- 
nation, dissatisfaction with the world, and factitious inter- 
est in trifles which the mind feels to be unworthy of its 
powers. Such minds sometimes seek alleviation in excit- 
ing amusements ; others resort to the grosser enjoyments 
of sense. Oppressed with the extremes of languor, or 
over-excitement, or apathy, the body fails under the wear- 
ing process, and adds new causes of suffering to the mind. 
Such, the compassionate Saviour calls to his service, in 
the appropriate terms, " Come unto me, all ye that labor 
and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my 
yoke upon you, and learn of me," " and ye shall find rest 
unto your souls." 



XXL 

T5E CAEE OF INFAKTS. 

The topic of this chapter may wqU be prefaced by an 
extract from Herbert Spencer on the treatment of offspring. 
He first supposes that some future philosophic speculator, 
examining the course of education of the present period, 
should find nothing relating to the training of children, 
and that his natural inference would be that our 
schools were all for monastic orders, who have no charge 
of. infancy and childhood. He then remarks, " Is it not an 
astonishing fact that, though on the treatment of offspring 
depend their lives or deaths and their moral welfare or 
ruin, yet not one word of instruction on the treatment of 
offspring is ever given to those who will hereafter be 
parents ? Is it not monstrous that the fate of a new gene- 
ration should be left to the chances of unreasoning custom, 
or impulse, or fancy, joined with the suggestions of igno- 
rant nurses and the prejudiced counsel of grandmothers ? 

" If a merchant should commence business without any 
knowledge of arithmetic or book-keeping, we should ex- 
claim at his folly and look for disastrous consequences. 
Or if, without studying anatomy, a man set up as a sur- 
geon, we should wonder at his audacity and pity his pa- 
tients. But that parents should commence the difficult 
work of rearing children without giving any attention to 
the principles, physical, moral, or intellectual, which ought 
to guide them, excites neither surprise at the actors nor 
pity for the victims.'' 

" To tens of thousands that are killed add hundreds of 
thousands that survive with feeble constitutions, and millions 
not so strong as they should be ; and you will have some idea 
of the curse inflicted on their offspring, by, parents ignorant 
of the laws of life. Do but consider for a moment that 
the regimen to which children are subject is hourly telling 
upon them to their life-long injury or benefit, and that 



230 GENERAL IGNORANCE OF PARENTS. 



there are twenty ways of going wrong to one way of go- 
ing right, and yon will get some idea of the enormous 
mischief that is almost everywhere inflicted by the thought- 
less, hap-hazard system in common use." 

" When sons and daughters grow up sickly and feeble,, 
parents commonly regard the event as a visitation of 
JProvidence. They assume that these evils come without 
cause, or that the cause is supernatural. Nothing of the 
kind. In some cases causes are inherited, but in most 
cases foolish management is the cause. Yery generally 
parents themselves are responsible for this pain, this de- 
bility, this depression, this misery. They have under- 
taken to control the lives of their offspring,- and with cruel 
carelessness have neglected to learn those vital processes 
which they are daily affecting by their commands and 
prohibitions. In utter ignorance of the simplest physiolo- 
gical laws, they have been, year by year, undermining the 
constitutions of their children, and so have inflicted dis- 
ease and premature death, not only on them but also on 
their descendants. 

" Equally great are the ignorance and consequent injury, 
when we turn from the physical to the moral training. 
Consider the young, untaught mother and her nursery le- 
gislation. A short time ago she was at school, where her 
memory was crammed with words and names and dates, 
and her reflective faculties scarcely in the slightest degree 
exercised — where not one idea was given her respecting 
the methods of dealing with the opening mind of child- 
hood, and where her discipline did not in the least fit her 
for thinking out methods of her own. The intervening 
years have been spent in practicing music, fancy work, 
novel-reading and party-going, no thought liaving been 
given to the grave responsibilities of maternity, and 
scarcely any of that solid intellectual culture obtained 
which would fit her for such responsibilities ; and now see 
her with an unfolding human character committed to her 
charge, see her profoundly ignorant of the phenomena 
with which she has to deal, undertaking to do that which 
can be done but imperfectly even with the aid of the pro- 
foundest knowledge !" 

In view of such considerations, every young lady ought 
to learn how to take proper care of an infant ; for, even if 
she is never to become the responsible guardian of a 



ALL WOMEN SHOULD UNDERSTAND CHILDREN. 231 



nursery, she will often be in situations where slie caii ren- 
der benevolent aid to others, in this most fatiguing and 
anxious duty. 

The writer has known instances in which young ladies, 
who had been trained by their mothers properly to 
perform this duty, were in some cases the means- of saving 
the lives of infants, and in others, of relieving sick moth- 
ers from intolerable care and anguish by their benevolent 
aid. 

On this point. Dr. Combe remarks, " All women are 
not destined, in the course of nature, to become mothers ; 
but how very small is the number of those who are un- 
connected, by family ties, friendship, or sympathy, with the 
children of others ! How very few are there, who, at some 
time or other of their lives, would not find their useful- 
ness and happiness increased, by the possession of a kind 
of knowledge intimately allied to their best feelings and 
affections! And how important is it, to the mother her- 
self, that her efforts should be seconded by intelligent, in- 
stead of ignorant assistants !" 

In order to be j)i'epared for such benevolent ministries, 
every young lady should improve the o^Dportunity, when- 
ever it is afforded her, for learning how to wash, dress, 
and tend a young infant ; and whenever she meets with 
such a work as Dr. Combe's, on the management of in- 
fants, she ought to read it, and remeraber its contents. 

It was the design of the author to fill this chapter 
chiefly with extracts from various medical writers, giving 
some of the most important directions on this subject; 
but finding these extracts too prolix for a work of this 
kind, she has condensed them into a shorter compass. Some 
are quoted verbatim, and some are abridged, from the 
most approved writers on this subject. 

''l^early one half of the deaths, occurring during the 
first two years of existence, are ascribable to mismanage- 
ment, and to errors in diet. At birth, the stomach is fee- 
ble, and as yet unaccustomed to food ; its cravings are 
consequently easily satisfied, and frequently renewed." 
" At that early age, there ought to be no fixed time for 
giving nourishment. The stomach can not be thus satis- 
fied." " The active call of the infant is a sign, which 
needs never be mistaken." 

" But care must be taken to determine between the crying 



232 EABL Y MAN A GEMENT OF INFANTS. 



of pain or nneasiness, and the call for food ; and the practice 
of giving an infant food, to stop its cries, is often the means 
of increasing its sufferings. After a child has satisfied its 
hunger, from two to four hours should intervene before 
another supply is given." 

" At birth, the stomach and bowels, never having been 
used, contain a quantity of mucous secretion, which re- 
quires to be removed. To effect this, Nature has rendered 
the first portions of the mother's milk purposely watery and' 
laxative. Nurses, however, distrusting Nature, often has- 
ten to administer some active purgative ; and the conse- 
quence often is, irritation in the stomach and bowels, not 
easily subdued." It is only where the child is deprived of its 
mother's milk, as the first food, that some gentle laxative 
should be given. 

" It is a common mistake, to suppose that because a wo- 
man is nursing, she ought to live very fully, and to add an 
allowance of wine, porter, or other fermented liquor, to her 
usual diet. The only result of this plan is, to cause an 
unnatural fullness in the system, which places the nurse on 
the brink of disease," and retards rather than increases the 
food of the infant. More will be gained by the observance 
of the ordinary laws of health, than by any foolish devia- 
tion, founded on ignorance." 

There is no point on which medical men so emphatically 
lift the voice of warning as in reference to administering 
medicines to infants. It is so difiicult to discover what is the 
matter with an infant, its frame is so delicate and so sus- 
ceptible, arid slight causes have such a powerful influence, 
that it requires the utmost skill and judgment to ascertain 
what would be proper medicines, and the proper quantity 
to be given. 

Says Dr. Combe, " That there are cases in which active 
means must be promptly used to save the child, is perfectly 
true. But it is not less certain that these are cases of 
which no mother or nurse ought to attempt the treatment. 
As a general rule, where the child is well managed, medi- 
cine, of any kind, is very rarely required ; and if disease 
were more generally regarded in its true light, not as some- 
thing thrust into the system, which requires to be expelled 
by force, but as an aberration from a natural mode of action, 
produced by some external cause, we should be in less 
haste to attack it by medicine, and more watchful in its 



MEDICINE— FOOD— AIB. 233 



prevention. Accordingly, where a constant demand for 
medicine exists in a nursery, the mother may rest assured 
that there is something essentially wrong in the treatment 
of her children." 

" Much havoc is made among infants, by the abuse of 
calomel and other medicines, which procure momentary 
relief but end by producing incurable disease ; and it has 
often excited my astonishment, to see how recklessly reme- 
dies of this kind are had recourse to, on the most trifling 
occasions, by mothers and nurses, who would be horrified 
if they knew the nature of the power they are wielding, 
and the extent of injury they are inflicting." 

Instead, then, of depending on medicine for the preserva- 
tion of the health and life of an infant, the following pre- 
cautions and preventives should be adopted. 

'' Take particular care of the food of an infant. If it is 
nourished by the mother, her own diet should be simple, 
nourishing, and temperate. If the child be brought up 
' by hand,' the milk of a new-milch cow, mixed with one 
third water, and sweetened a little with white sugar, should- 
be the oilly food given, until the teeth come. This is more 
suitable than any preparations of flour or arrowroot, the 
nourishment of which is too highly concentrated, l^ever 
give a child bread^ cake^ or meat^ before the teeth appear. 
If the food appear to distress the child after eating, first 
ascertain if the milk be really from a new-milch cow, as it 
may otherwise be too old. Learn, also, whether the cow 
lives on proper food. Cows that are fed on still-slo^s^ as is 
often the case in cities, furnish milk which is very un- 
healthful." 

Be sure and keep a good supply of pure and fresh air in 
the nursery. On this point. Dr. Bell remarks, respecting 
rooms constructed without fireplaces and without doors or 
windows to let in pure air from without, " The sufierings 
of children of feeble constitutions are increased beyond 
measure, by such lodgings as these. An action, brought 
by the commonwealth, ought to lie against those persons 
who build houses for sale or rent, in which rooms are so 
constructed as not to allow of free ventilation ; and a writ 
of lunacy taken out against those who, with the common- 
sense experience which all have on this head, should spend 
any portion of their time, still more, should sleep, in rooms 
thus nearly air-tight." 



234 CLEANLINE8S-WARMTH-SLELT. 



After it is a month or two old, take an infant out to 
walk, or ride, in a little wagon, every fair and warm day ; 
bnt be very careful that its feet, and every part of its body, 
are kept warm ; and be sure that its eyes are well protected 
from the light. Weak eyes, and sometimes blindness, are 
caused by neglecting this precaution. Keep the head of an 
infant cool, never allowing too warm bonnets, nor permit- 
ting it to sink into soft pillows when asleep. Keeping an 
infant's head too warm very much increases nervous irrita- 
bility ; and this is the reason why medical men forbid the 
use of caps for infants. But the head of an infant should, 
especially while sleeping, be protected from draughts of air, 
and from getting cold. 

Be very careful of the skin of an infant, as nothing tends 
so effectually to prevent disease. For this end, it should 
be washed all over every morning, and then gentle friction 
should be applied with the hand, to the back, stomach, 
bowels, and limbs. The head should be thoroughly washed 
every day, and then brushed with a soft hair-brush, or 
combed with a fine comb. If, by neglect, dirt accumulates 
under the hair, apply with the finger the yolk of an Qgg^ 
and then the fine comb will remove it all, without any 
trouble. 

Dress the infant so that it will be always warm, but not 
so as to cause perspiration. Be sure and keep its feet 
always warm ; and for this often warm them at a fire, 
and use long dresses. Keep the neck and arms covered. 
For this purpose, wrappers, open in front, made high in the 
neck, with long sleeves, to put on over the fr-ock, are, now 
very fashionable. 

It is better for both mother and child, that it should not 
sleep on the mother's arm at night, unless the weather be 
extremely cold. This practice keeps the child too warm, 
and leads it to seek food too fr-equently. A child should 
ordinarily take nourishment but twice in the night. A 
crib beside the mother, with plenty of warm and light 
covering, is best for the child ; but the mother must be sure 
that it is always kept warm. 

]^ever cover a child's head, so that it will inhale the air 
of its own lungs. In very warm weather, especially in cities, 
great pains should be taken to find fresh and cool air by 
rides and sailing. Walks in a public square in the cool of 
the morning, and frequent excursions in ferry or steam- 



BATHING— CHANGE OF AIB— HABITS. 235 



boats, would often save a long bill for medical attendance. 
In hot nights, the windows should be kept open, and the 
infant laid on a mattress, or on folded blankets. A bit of 
straw matting, laid over a feather bed and covered with the 
under sheet, makes a very cool bed for an infant. 

Cool bathing, in hot weather, is very useful; but the 
water should be very little cooler than the skin of the child. 
"When the constitution is delicate, the water should be 
slightly warmed. Simply sponging the body freely in a 
tub, answers the same purpose as a regular bath. In very 
warm weather, this should be done two or three times a day, 
always waiting two or three hours after food has been given. 

" When the stomach is peculiarily irritable, (from teeth- 
ing,) it is of paramount necessity to withhold all the nos- 
trums which have been so falsly lauded as ' sovereign cures 
for cholera infantmn.'' The true restoratives for a child 
threatened with disease are cool air, cool bathing, and cool 
drinks of simple water, in addition to proper food, at stated 
intervals." 

In many cases, change of air from sea to mountain, 
or the reverse, has an immediate healthful influence and is 
superior to every other treatment. Do not take the advice 
of mothers who tell of this, that, and the other thing, 
which have proved excellent remedies in their experience. 
Children have different constitutions, and there are multi- 
tudes of different causes for their sickness ; and what might 
cure one child, might kill another, which appeared to have 
the same complaint. A mother should go on the general 
rule of giving an infant very little medicine, and then only 
by the direction of a discreet and experienced physician. 
And there are cases, when, according to the views of the 
most distinguished and competent practitioners, physicians 
themselves are much too free in using medicines, instead 
of adopting preventive measures. 

Do not allow a child to form such habits that it will 
not be quiet unless tended and amused. A healthy child 
should be accustomed to lie or sit in its cradle much of the 
time ; but it should occasionally be taken up and tossed, 
or carried about for exercise and amusement. An infant 
should be encouraged to creejp^ as an exercise very strength- 
ening and useful. . If the mother fears the soiling of its 
nice dresses, she can keep a long slip or apron which will 
entirely cover the dress, and can be removed when the 



236 TEETHINQ— DANGERS AND BELIEFS. 



child is taken in the arms. A child should not be allowed, 
when quite young, to bear its weight on its feet very long 
at a time, as' this tends to weaken and distort the limbs. 

Many mothers, with a little painstaking, succeed in put- 
ting their infants into their cradle while awake, at regular 
hours for sleep ; and induce regularity in other habits, 
which saves much trouble. During this training process a 
child may cry, at first, a great deal ; but for a healthy child, 
this use of the lungs does no harm and tends rather to 
strengthen than to injure them, unless it becomes exceed- 
ingly violent. A child who is trained to lie or sit and 
amuse itself, is happier than one who is carried and tended 
a great deal, and thus rendered restless and uneasy when 
not so indulged. 

The most critical period in the life of an infant is that 
of dentition or teething, especially at the early stages. An 
adult has thirty-two .teeth, but young children have only 
twenty, which gradually Igosen -and are followed by the 
permanent teeth. When the child has ten teeth on each 
jaw, all that are added are the permanent set, which should 
be carefully preserved ; this caution is needful, as sometimes 
decay in the first double teeth of the second set are sup- 
posed to be of the transient set, and are so neglected, 
or are removed instead of being preserved by plug- 
ging. When the first teeth rise so as to press against 
the gmns, there is always more or less inflammation, caus- 
ing nervous fretfulness, and the impulse to put every thing 
into the mouth. Usually there is disturbed sleep, a slight 
fever, and greater flow of saliva ; this is often relieved by 
letting the child have ice to bite, tied in a rag. 

Sometimes the disorder of the mouth extends to the whole 
system. In diflicult teething, one symptom is the jerking 
back of the head when taking the breath, as if in pain, owing 
to the extreme soreness of the gums. This is, in extreme 
cases, attended with increased saliva and a gummy secretion in 
the corners of the eyes, itching of the nose, redness of cheeks, 
rash, convulsive twitching of lips and the muscles generally, 
fever, constipation, and sometimes by a diarrhea, which 
last is favorable if slight ; difficulty of breathing, dilation 
of the pupils of the eyes, restless motion and moaning ; and 
finally, if not relieved, convulsions and death. The most 
efi'ective relief is gained by lancing the gums. Every wo- 
man, and especially every mother, should know the time 



FIRST TEETH— CLEANSING. 237 



and order in wliich the infant teeth come, and, when any of 
the above symptoms appear, should examine the mouth, 
and if a gum is swollen and inflamed, should either have a 
physician lance it, or if this can not be done, should per- 
form the oj)eration herself. A sharp pen-knife and steady 
hand making incision to touch the rising tooth will cause 
no more pain than a simple scratch of the gum, and usu- 
ally will give speedy relief. 

The temporary teeth should not be removed until the 
new ones appear, as it injures the jaw and coming teeth ; 
but as soon as a new tooth is seen pressing upward, the tem- 
porary tooth should be removed, or the new tooth will 
come out of its proper place. If there is not room where 
the new tooth appears, the next temporary tooth must be 
taken out. Great mischief has been done by removing the 
first teeth before the second appear, thus making a. con- 
traction of the jaw. 

Most trouble with the teeth of young children comes 
from neglect to use the brush to remove the tartar that ac- 
cumulates near the gum, causing disease and decay. This 
disease is sometimes called scurvy^ and is shown by an accu- 
mulation around the teeth and by inflamed gums that 
bleed easily. Removal of the tartar by a dentist and clean- 
ing the teeth after every meal with a brush will usually cm'e 
this evil, which causes loosening of the teeth and a bad 
breath. 

Much injury is often done to teeth by using improper 
tooth-powder. Powdered chalk sifted through musKn is 
approved by all dentists, and should be used once every 
day. The tooth-brush should be used after every meal, and 
floss silk pressed between the teeth to remove food lodged 
there. This method will usually save the teeth from de- 
cay till old age. 

When an infant seems ill during the period of dentition, 
the following directions from an experienced physician 
may be of service. It is now an accepted principle of all 
the medical world that fevers are to be reduced by cold 
applications; but an infant demands careful and judicious 
treatment in this direction ; some have extremely sensitive 
nerves, and cold is painful. For such, tepid sponging 
should be used near a fire, and the coldness increased grad- 
ually. The sensations of the child should be the guide. 
Usually, but not always, children that are healthy will 



238 YABI0U8 USES OF WATEE. 



learn by degrees to prefer cold water, and then it may safe- 
ly be used. 

When an infant becomes feverish, wrapping its body in 
a towel wrung out in w^arm or tepid water, and then keep- 
ing it warm in a woolen blanket, is a very safe and sooth- 
ing remedy. 

In case of constipation this preparation of food is useful : 

One table-spoonful of unbolted flour wet with cold water. 
Add one pint of hot water, and boil twenty minutes. Add 
when taken up, one pint erf milk. If the stomach seems 
delicate and irritable, strain out the bran, but in most cases 
retain it. 

In case of diarrhea, walk with the child in arms a great 
deal in the open air, and give it rice-water to drink. 

The warmth and vital influences of the nurse are very 
important, and make this mode of exercise both more 
soothing and more efficacious, especially in the open air, 
the infant being warmly clad. 

In case of feverishness from teething or from any other 
cause, wrap the infant in a towel wrung out in tepid wa- 
ter and then wrap it in a woolen blanket. The water may 
be cooler according as the child is older and stronger. 
The evaporation of the water draws off the heat, while 
the moisture soothes the nerves, and usually the child will 
fall into a quiet sleep. As soon as it becomes restless, 
change the wet towel and proceed as before. 

The leading physicians of Europe and of this country, 
in all cases of fevers, use water to reduce them, by this 
and other modes of application. This method is more 
soothing than any other, and is as effective for adults as 
for infants. 

Some of the most distinguished physicians of New- 
York who have examined this chapter give their full ap- 
proval of the advice given. If there is still distrust as to 
this mode of using water to reduce fevers, it will be ad- 
vantageous to read an address on the use of cold applica- 
tions in fevers, delivered by Dr. "William l^eftel, before 
the New- York Academy of Medicine, published in the 
New-Yorlt Medical Record for November, 1868 : this 
can be obtained by inclosing twenty cents to the editor, 
with the post-office address of the applicant. 



xxn. 

THE MANAGEMENT OF YOUNG CHILDEEN. 

In regard to the physical education of children, Dr. 
Clarke, rhysiciki in Ordinary to the Queen of England, 
expresses views on one point, in which most physicians 
would coincide. He says, " There is no greater error in the 
management of children, than that of giving them animal 
diet very early. By persevering in the use of an over-stimula- 
ting diet the digestive organs become irritated, and the vari- 
ous secretions immediately connected with digestion, and 
necessary to it, are diminished, especially the hiliary secre- 
tion. Childi-en so fed become very liable to attacks of 
fever, and inflammation, afl'ecting particularly the mucous 
membranes ; and measles and other diseases incident to 
childhood, are generally severe in their attacks." 

The result of the treatment of the inmates of the Orphan 
Asylum, at Albany, is one which all who have the care of 
young children should deeply ponder. Dm^ing the first six 
years of the existence of this institution, its average number 
of children was eighty. For the first three years, their diet 
was meat once a day, fine bread, rice, Indian puddings, 
vegetables, fruit, and milk. Considerable attention was 
given to clotliing, fresh au', and exercise ; and they were 
bathed once in three weeks. Dm-ing these three years, from 
four to six children, and sometimes more, were continually 
on the sick-list ; one or two assistant nurses were necessary ; 
a physician was called two or three times a week ; and, in 
this time, there were between thirty and forty deaths. At 
the end of this period, the management was changed, in 
these respects : daily ablutions of the whole body were 
practiced ; bread of unbolted flour was substituted for that 
of fine wheat ; and all animal food was banished. More 
attention also was paid to clothing, bedding, fresh air, and 
exercise. 



240 IBEEGULAB EATING— PUBE AIB. 



The result was, that the nursery was vacated; the 
nurse and physician were no longer needed ; and, for 
two years,- not a single case of sickness or death occurred. 
The third year also, there were no deaths, except those of 
two idiots and one other child, all of whom were new in- 
mates, who had not been subjected to this treatment. The 
teachers of the children also testified there was a manifest 
increase of intellectual vigor and activity, while there was 
much less irritability of temper. 

Let parents, nurses, and teachers reflect on the above 
statement, and bear in mind that stupidity of intellect, and 
irritability of temper, as well as ill-health, are often caused 
by the mismanagement of the nursery in regard to the 
physical training of children. 

There is probably no practice more deleterious, than 
that of allowing children to eat at short intervals, through 
the day. As the stomach is thus kept constantly at work, 
with no time for repose, its functions are deranged, and a 
weak or disordered stomach is the frequent result. Chil- 
dren should be required to keep cakes, nuts, and other 
good things, which should be sparingly given, till just be- 
fore a meal, and then they will form a part of their regular 
supply. This is better than to wait till after their hunger 
is satisfied by food, when they will eat the niceties merely 
to gratify the palate, and thus overload the stomach and 
interrupt digestion. 

In regard to the intellectual training of young children, 
some modification in the common practice is necessary, 
with reference to their physical well-being. More care is 
needful, in providing well-ventilated school-rooms, and in 
securing more time for sports in the open air, during school 
hours. It is very important to most mothers that their 
young children should be removed from their care during 
certain school hours ; and it is very useful for quite young 
children, to be subjected to the discipline of a school, and 
to intercourse with other children of their own age. And, 
with a suitable teacher, it is no matter how early children 
are sent to school, provided their health is not endangered by 
impure air, too much confinement, and too great mental 
stimulus, which is the chief danger of the present age. 

In regard to the formation of the moral character, it has 
been too much the case that the discipline of the nursery 
has consisted of disconnected efibrts to make children either 



IMP OB TANCE OF EAEL Y HABITS. 2 -1 1 



do, or refrain from doing, certain particular acts. Do tliis, 
and be rewarded ; do that, and be punished, is the ordi- 
nary routine of family government. 

But children can be very early taught that their happi 
ness, both now and hereafter, depends on the formation of 
habits of submission, self-denial, and benevolence. And 
all the discipline of the nursery can be conducted by 
parents, not only with this general aim in their own minds, 
but also with the same object daily set before the minds of 
the children. Whenever their wishes are crossed, or their 
wills subdued, they can be taught that all this is done, not 
merely to please the parent, or to secure some good to 
themselves or to others ; but as a part of that merciful 
training which is designed to form such a character, and 
such habits, that they can hereafter find their chief happi- 
ness in giving up their will to God, and in living to do good 
to others, instead of living merely to please themselves. 

It can be pointed out to them, that they must always 
submit their will to the will of God, or else be continually 
miserable. It can be shown how, in the nursery, and in 
the school, and through all future days, a child must 
practice the giving up of his will and wishes, when they 
interfere with the rights and comfort of others ; and how 
important it is, early to learn to do this, so that it will, by 
habit, become easy and agreeable. It can be shown how 
children who are indulged in all their wishes, and who are 
never accustomed to any self-denial, always find it hard to 
refrain from what injures themselves and others. It can be 
shown, also, how important it is for every person to form 
such habits of benevolence toward others that self-denial 
in doing good will become easy. 

Parents have learned, by experience, that children can 
be constrained by authority and penalties to exercise self- 
denial, for their own good, till a habit is formed which 
makes the duty comparatively easy. For example, well 
trained children can be accustomed to deny themselves 
tempting articles of food, which are injurious, until the 
practice ceases to be painful and difficult. Whereas, an 
indulged child would be thrown into fits of anger or 
discontent, when its wishes were crossed by restraints of 
this kind. 

But it has not been so readily discerned, that the same 
method is needful in order to form a habit of self-denial in 



242 EXTREMES OF GOYEANMENT. 



doing good to others. It has been supposed that while 
children must be forced, by authority^ to be self-denjing 
and prudent in regard to their own happiness, it may 
properly be left to their own discretion, whether they will 
practice any self-denial in doing good to others. But the 
more difficult a duty is, the greater is the need of parental 
authority in forming a habit which will make that duty easy. 
In order to secure this, some parents turn their earliest 
efforts to this object. They require the young child 
always to offer to others a part of every thing which it 
receives ; always to comply with all reasonable requests of 
others for service ; and often to practice little acts of self- 
denial, in order to secure some enjoyment for others. If 
one child receives a present of some nicety, he is required 
to share it with all his brothers and sisters. If one asks 
his brother to help him in some study or sport, and is met 
with a denial, the parent requires the unwilling child to act 
benevolently, and give up some of his time to increase his 
brother's enjoyment. Of course, in such an effort as this, 
discretion must be used as to the frequency and extent of 
the exercise of authority, to induce a habit of benevolence. 
But where parents deliberately aim at such an object, and 
wisely conduct their instructions and discipline to secure 
it, very much will be accomplished. 

In regard to forming habits of obedience, there have 
been two extremes, both of which need to be shunned. 
One is, a stern and unsympathizing maintenance of parental 
authority, demanding perfect and constant obedience, 
without any attempt to convince a child of the propriety 
and benevolence of the requisitions, and without any 
manifestation of sympathy and tenderness for the pain and 
difficulties which are to be met. Under such discipline, 
children grow up to fear their parents, rather than to love 
and trust them ; while some of the most valuable principles 
of character are chilled, or forever blasted. 

• In shunning this danger, other parents pass to the oppo- 
site extreme. They put themselves too much on the 
footing of equals with their children, as if little were due to 
superiority of relation, age, and experience. JSTothing is 
exacted, without the implied concession that the child is to 
be a judge of the propriety of the requisition ; and reason 
and persuasion are employed, where simple command and 
obedience would be far better. This system produces a 



MEDIUM COUBSE THE BEST ONE. 243 . 



most pernicious influence. CMldren soon perceiye the 
position thus allowed them, ^nd take every advantage of it. 
They soon learn to dispute parental requirements, acquire 
habits of forwardness and conceit, assume disrespectful 
manners and address, maintain their views with pertinacity, 
and yield to authority with ill-humor and resentment, as if 
their rights were infringed upon. 

The medium course is for the parent to take the attitude 
of a superior in age, knowledge, and relation, who has a 
perfect right to control every action of the child, and that, 
too, without giving any reason for the requisitions. " Obey 
hecause your parent commands ^^^ is always a proper and suffi- 
cient reason : though not always the best to give. 

But care should be taken to convince the child that the 
parent is conducting a course of discipline, designed to 
make him happy ; and in forming habits of implicit obedi- 
ence, self-denial, and benevolence, the child should have the 
reasons for most requisitions kindly stated ; never, however, 
on the demand of it from the child, as a right, but as an act 
of kindness from the parent. 

It is impossible to govern children properly, especially 
those of strong and sensitive feelings, without a constant • 
effort to appreciate the value which they attach to their 
enjoyments and pursuits. A lady of great strength of mind 
and sensibility once told the writer that one of the most 
acute periods of suffering in her whole life was occasioned 
by the burning up of some milkweed-silk, by her mother. 
The child had found, for the first time, some of this shining 
and beautiful substance ; was filled with delight at her 
discovery ; was arranging it in parcels ; planning its future 
use, and her pleasure in showing it to her companions — 
when her mother, finding it strewed over the carpet, hastily 
swept it into the fire, and that, too, with so indifferent an 
air, that the child fled away, almost distracted with grief 
and disappointment. The mother little realized the pain 
she had inflicted, but the child felt the unkindness so se- 
verely that for several days her mother was an object 
ahnost of aversion. While, therefore, the parent needs 
to carry on a steady course, which will oblige the child al- 
ways to give up its will, whenever its own good or the 
greater claims of others require it, this should be constantly 
connected with the expression of a tender sympathy for 
the trials and disappointments thus inflicted. 



244 UNSTEADINESS AND OVER- GOVERNMENT. 



Those, again, who will join with children and help them 
in their sports, will learn by this mode to understand the 
feelings and interests of childhood ; while at the same time, 
they secure a degree of confidence and affection which can 
not be gained so easily in any other way. And it is to be 
regretted that parents so often relinquish this most power- 
ful mode of influence to domestics and playmates, who often 
use it in the most pernicious manner. In joining in such 
sports, older persons should never yield entirely the attitude 
of superiors, or allow disrespectful manners or address. 
And respectful deportment is never more cheerfully ac- 
corded, than in seasons when young hearts are pleased and 
made grateful by having their tastes and enjoyments so ef- 
ficiently promoted. - 

Kext to the want of all government, the two most fruit- 
ful sources of evil to children are, unsteadiness in govern- 
ment and over-government. Most of the cases in which the 
children of sensible and conscientious parents turn out 
badly, result from one or the other of these causes. In 
cases of unsteady government, either one parent is very 
strict, severe and unbending, and the other excessively in- 
dulgent, or else the parents are sometimes very strict and 
decided, and at other times allow disobedience to go un- 
punished. In such cases, children, never knowing exactly 
when they can escape with impunity, are constantly tempted 
to make the trial. 

The bad effects of this can be better appreciated by ref- 
erence to one important principle of the mind. It is found 
to be universally true, that, when any object of desire is 
put entirely beyond the reach of hope or expectation, the 
mind very soon ceases to long for it, and turns to other ob- 
jects • of pursuit. But so long as the mind is hoping for 
some good, and making efforts to obtain it, any opposition ex- 
cites irritable feelings. Let the object be put entirely beyond 
all hope, and this irritation soon ceases. 

In consequence of this principle, those children who are un- 
der the care of persons of steady and decided government 
know that whenever a thing is forbidden or denied, it is out 
of the reach of hope ; the desire, therefore, soon ceases, and 
they turn to other objects. But the children of undecided, or 
of over-indulgent parents, never enjoy this preserving aid. 
"When a thing is denied, they never know but either coaxing 
may win it, or disobedience secure it without any penalty, 



EULES—REWARDS-TOKES. 245 



and so they are kept in that state of hope and anxiety which 
produces irritation and tempts to insubordination. The chil- 
dren of very indulgent parents, and of those who are un- 
decided and unsteady in government, are very apt to be- 
come fretful, irritable, and fractious. 

Another class of persons, in shunning this evil, go to the 
other extreme, and are very strict and pertinacious in re- 
gard to every requisition. With them, fault-finding and 
penalties abound, until the children are either hardened 
into indifference of feeling, and obtuseness of conscience, 
or else become excessively irritable or misanthropic. 

It demands great wisdom, patience, and self-control, to 
escape these two extremes. In aiming at this, there are 
parents who have fou.nd the following maxims of very great 
value : 

First : Avoid, as much as possible, the multiplication of 
rules and absolute commands. Instead of this, take the 
attitude of advisers. " ]\Iy child, this is improper, I wish 
you would remember not to do it." This mode of address 
answers for all the little acts of heedlessness, awkwardness, 
or ill-manners so frequently occurring with children. There 
are cases, when direct and distinct commands are needful ; 
and in such cases, a penalty for disobedience should be as 
steady and sure as the laws of nature. Where such stead- 
iness and certainty of penalty attend disobedience, children 
no more think of disobeying than they do of putting their 
fingers into a burning candle. 

The next maxim is, Govern by rewards more than by 
penalties. Such faults as willful disobedience, lying, dis- 
honesty, and indecent or profane language, should be pun- 
ished with severe penalties, after a child has been fully in- 
structed in the evil of such practices. But all the constant- 
ly recurring faults of the nursery, such as ill-humor, quar- 
reling, carelessness, and ill-manners, may, in a great many 
cases, be regulated by gentle and kind remonstrances, and 
by the offer of some reward for persevering efforts to form 
a good habit. It is very injurious and degrading to any 
mind to be kept under the constant fear of penalties. Love 
and hope are the principles that should be mainly relied on, 
in forming the habits of childhood. 

Another maxim, and perhaps the most difficult, is, Do 
not govern by the aid of severe and angry tones. A single 
example will be given to illustrate this maxim. A child is 



246 EEFBOOF— SELF-CONTROL. 



disposed to talk and amuse itself at table. The motlier re- 
quests it to be silent, except when needing to ask for food, 
.or when spoken to bj its older friends. It constantly for- 
gets. The mother, instead of rebuking in an impatient 
tone, says, " My child, you must remember not to talk. I 
will remind you of it four times more, and after that, when- 
ever you forget, you must leave the table and wait till we 
are done." If the mother is steady in her government, it is 
not probable that she will have to apply this slight penalty 
more than once or twice. Thi^ method is far more eiFectual 
than the use of sharp and severe tones, to secure attention 
alid recollection, and often answers the purpose as well as 
offering some reward. 

The writer has been in some families where the most ef- 
ficient and steady government has been sustained without 
the use of a cross or angry tone ; and in others, where a far 
less efficient discipline was kept up, by frequent severe re- 
bukes and angry remonstrances. In the first case, the chil- 
dren followed the example set them, and seldom used severe 
tones to each other ; in the latter, the method employed by 
the parents was imitated by the children, and cross words 
and angry tones resounded from morning till night, in every 
porti£>n of the household. 

Another important maxim is. Try to keep children in a 
happy state of mind. Every one knows, by experience, 
that it is easier to do right and submit to rule when cheer- 
ful and happy, than when irritated. This is peculiarly true 
of children ; and a wise mother, when she finds her child 
fretful and impatient, and thus constantly doing wrong, 
will often remedy the whole difficulty, by telling some 
amusing story, or by getting the child engaged in some 
amusing sport. This strongly shows the importance ot 
learning to govern children without the employment of an- 
gry tones, which always produce irritation. 

Children of active, heedless temperament, or those who 
are odd, awkward, or unsuitable in their remarks and de- 
portment, are often essentially injured by a want of pa- 
tience and self-control in those who govern them. Such 
children often possess a morbid sensibility which they 
strive to conceal, or a desire of love and approbation, which 
preys like a famine on the soul. And yet, they become ob- 
jects of ridicule and rebuke to almost every member of the 
family, until their sensibilities are tortured into obtuseness 



SELF-BENIAL-BONESTY. 24:'J 



or misantlirop J. Such children, above all others, need 
tenderness and sympathy. A thousand instances of mis- 
take or forgetfnlness should be passed over in silence, 
while opportunities for commendation and encouragement 
should be diligently sought. 

In regard to the formation of habits of self-denial in 
childhood, it is astonishing to see how parents who are very 
sensible often seem to regard this matter. Instead of in- 
uring their children to this duty in early life, so that by 
habit it may be made easy in after-days, they seem to be 
studiously seeking to cut them off from every chance to se- 
cure such a preparation. Every wish of the child is studi- 
ously gratified ; and, where a necessity exists of crossing its 
wishes, some compensating pleasure is offered, in return. 
Such parents often maintain that nothing shall be put on 
their table, which their children may not join them in eat- 
.ing. But where, so easily and surely as at the daily meal, 
can that habit of self-denial be formed, which is so needful 
in governing the appetites, and which children must ac- 
quire, or be ruined 1 The food which is proper for grown 
persons, is often unsuitable for children ; and this is a suf- 
ncient reason for accustoming them to see others partake 
of delicacies, which they must not share. Requiring chil- 
dren to wait till others are helped, and to refrain from con- 
versation at table, except when addressed by their elders, 
is another mode of forming habits of self-denial and self- 
control. Requiring them to help others first, and to offer 
the best to others, has a similar influence. 

In forming the moral habits of children, it is wise to take 
into account the peculiar temptations to which they are to 
be exposed. The people of this nation are eminently a 
trafficking people ; and the present standard of honesty, as 
to trade and debts, is very low, and every year seems sink- 
ing still lower. It is, therefore, preeminently important, 
that children should be trained to strict honesty^ both in 
word and deed. It is not merely teaching children to avoid 
absolute lying, which is needed : all kinds of deceit should 
be guarded against ; and all kinds of little dishonest prac- 
tices be strenuously opposed. A child should be brought 
up with the determined principle, never to run in debt^ but 
to be content to live in a humbler way, in order to se- 
cure that true independence, which should be the noblest 
distinction of an American citizen. 



248 MODESTY— PURITY, 



There is no more important duty devolving npon a 
mother, than the cultivation of habits of modesty and pro- 
priety in young children. All indecorous words or deport- 
ment should be carefully restrained ; and delicacy and re- 
serve studionsly cherished. It is a common notion, that it 
is important to secure these virtues to one sex, more than 
to the other ; and, by a strange inconsistency, the sex most 
exposed to danger is the one selected as least needing care. 
Yet a wise mother will be especially careful that her sons 
are trained to modesty and purity of mind. 

Yet few mothers are sufficiently aware of the dreadful 
penalties which often result from indulged impurity of 
thought. If children, vn future life, can be preserved from 
licentious associates, it is supposed that their safety is se- 
ciu-ed. But the records of onr insane retreats, and the 
pages of medical writers, teach that even in solitude, and 
without being aware of the sin or the danger, children may 
inflict evils on themselves, which not unfreqnently termi- 
nate in disease, delirium, and death. 

There is no necessity for explanations on this point any 
farther than this ; that certain parts of the body are not to 
be touched except for purposes of cleanliness, and that the 
most dreadful ■ suffering comes from disobeying these com- 
mands. So in regard to practices and sins of which a young 
child will sometimes inquire, the wise parent will say, that 
this is what children can not understand, and about which 
t'aey must not talk or ask questions. And they should be 
told that it is always a bad sign, when children talk on 
matters which parents call vulgar and indecent, and that 
the company of such children should be avoided. Disclos- 
ing details of wrong-doing to young and curious children, 
often leads to the very evils feared. But parents and teach- 
ers, in this age of danger, should be well informed and- 
watchful ; for it is not unfrequently the case, that servants 
and school-mates will teach young children practices, which 
exhaust the nervous system and bring on paralysis, mania, 
and death. 

And finally, in regard to the early religious training of 
children, the examples of the Creator in the early training 
of our race may safely be imitated. That " He is, and is 
a rewarder" — that he is everywhere present — that he is a 
tender Father in heaven, who is grieved when any of his 
children do wrong, yet ever ready to forgive those who are 



fRE BEST MOTIVES. 249 



striving to please Mm by well-doing, tliese are the most 
effective motives to save the young from the paths of dan- 
ger and sin. The rewards and penalties of the life to come 
are better adapted to matm:er age, than to the imperfect 
and often false and fearful conceptions of the childish mmd. 



' xxni. 

DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS AND SOCIAL DUTIES. 

"Whenever the laws of body and mind are properly- 
understood, it will be allowed that every person needs 
some kind of recreation ; and- that, by seeking it, the body 
is strengthened, the mind is invigorated, and all onr duties 
are more cheerfully and successfully performed. 

Children, whose bodies are rapidly growing and whose 
nervous system is tender and excitable, need much more 
amusement than persons of mature age. Persons, also, who 
are oppressed with great responsibilities and duties, or who 
are taxed by great intellectual or moral excitement, need 
recreations which physically exercise and draw off the mind 
from absorbing interests. Unfortunately, such persons are 
those who least resort to amusements, while the idle, gay, 
and thoughtless seek those which are not needed, and for 
which useful occupation would be a most beneficial 
substitute. 

As the only legitimate object of amusement is to prepare 
mind and body for the proper discharge of duty, the pro- 
tracting of such as interfere with regular employments, or 
induce excessive fatigue, or weary the mind, or invade the 
proper hours for repose, must be sinful. 

In deciding what should be selected, and what avoided, 
the following are guiding principles. In the first place, no 
amusements which inflict needless pain should ever be 
allowed. All tricks which cause fright or vexation, and all 
sports which involve suffering to animals, should be utterly 
forbidden. Hunting and fishing, for mere sport, can never 
be justified. If a man can convince his children that he 
follows these pursuits to gain food or health, and not for 
amusement, his example may not be very injurious. But 
when children see grown persons kill and frighten animals, 
for sport, habits of cruelty, rather than feelings of tender- 
ness and benevolence, are cultivated. 



RACING— THEATRES. 251 



In the next place, we should seek no recreations which 
endanger life, or interfere with important duties. As the 
legitimate object of amusements is to promote health and 
prepare for some serions duties, selecting those which have a 
directly opposite tendency, can not be justified. Of course, 
if a person feels that the pre\dous day's diversion has 
shortened the hours of needful repose, or induced a lassitude 
of mind or body, instead of invigorating them, it is certain 
that an evil has been done which should never be repeated. 

Another rule which has been extensively adopted in the 
religious world is, to avoid those amusements which experi- 
ence has shown to be so exciting, and connected with so 
many temptations, as to be pernicious in tendency, both to 
the individual and to the community. It is on this groimd, 
that horse-racing and circus-riding have been excluded. 
!Not because there is any thing positively wrong in having 
men and horses run and perform feats oi agility, or in per- 
sons looking on for the diversion : but because experience 
has shown so many evils connected with these recreations, 
that they should be relinquished. So with theatres. The 
enactiug of characters and the amusement thus afforded in 
themselves may be harmless ; and possibly, in certain 
cases, might be useful : but experience has shown so many 
evils to result from this source, that it has been deemed 
wi'ong to patronize it. So, also, with those exciting games 
of chance which are employed in gambling. 

Under the same head comes dancing, in the estimation of 
the great majority of the religious world. Still, there are 
many intelligent, excellent, and conscientious persons who 
hold a contrary opinion. Such maintain that it is an inno- 
cent and healthful amusement, tending to promote ease of 
manners, cheerfulness, social affection, and health of mind 
and body ; that evils are involved only in its excess ; that like 
food, study, or religious excitement, it is only wrong when 
not properly regulated; and that, if serious and intelli- 
gent people would strive to regulate, rather than banish, 
this amusement, much more good would be secured. 

On the other side, it, is objected, not th?^t dancing is 
a sin, in itself considered, for it was once a part of sacred 
worship ; not that it would be objectionable, if it were 
properly regulated ; not that it does not tend, when used 
in a proper manner, to health of body and mind, to grace 
of manners, and to social enjoyment : all these things are 



252 DANCING. 



conceded. But it is objected to, on the same ground as 
horse-racing and theatrical entertainments ; that we are to 
look at amusements as they are, and not as they might be. 
Horse-races might be so managed as not to involve cruelty, 
gambling, drunkenn.ess, and other vices. And so might 
theatres. And if serious and intelligent persons undertook 
to patronize these, in order to regulate them, perhaps they 
would be somewhat raised from the depths to which they 
have sunk. But such persons believe that, with the weak 
sense of moral obligation existing in the mass of society, 
and the imperfect ideas mankind have of the proper use 
of amusements, and the little self-control which men or 
women or children practice, these will not, in fact, be thus 
regulated. 

And they believe dancing to be liable to the same objec- 
tions. As this recreation is actually conducted, it does not 
tend to produce health of body or mind, but directly the 
contrary. If young and old went out to dance together 
in open air, as the French peasants do, it would be a very 
diiferent sort of amusement from that which often is 
witnessed in a room furnished with many lights and filled 
with guests, both expending the healthful part of the 
atmosphere, where the young collect, in their tightest 
dresses, to protract for several hours a kind of physical ex- 
ertion which is not habitual to them. During this process, 
the blood is made to circulate more swiftly than usual, in 
circumstances where it is less perfectly oxygenized than 
health requires ; the pores of the skin are excited by heat 
and exercise ; the stomach is loaded with indigestible arti- 
cles, and the quiet, needful to digestion, withheld ; the di- 
version is protracted beyond the usual hour for repose ; and 
then, when the skin is made the most highly susceptible 
to damps and miasms, the company pass from a warm room 
to the cold night-8>. It is probable that no single amuse- 
ment can be pointed out combining so many injurious 
particulars as this, which is so often defended as a health- 
ful one. Even if parents, who train their children to dance, 
can keep them from public balls, (which is seldom the case,) 
dancing, as ordinarily conducted in private parlors, in most 
cases is subject to nearly all the same mischievous 
influences. 

The spirit of Christ is that of self-denying benevolence ; 
and his great aim, by his teachings and example, was to 



PUBITAN CUSTOMS. 253 



train his followers to avoid all that should lead to sin, es- 
pecially in regard to the weaker ones of his family. Yet 
he made wine at a wedding, attended a social feast on the 
Sabbath,^ reproved excess of strictness in Sabbath-keep- 
ing generally, and forbade no safe and innocent enjoyment. 
In following his example, the rnlers of the family, then, will 
introduce the most highly exciting amusements only in cir- 
cumstances where there are such strong principles and hab- 
its of self-control that the enjoyment will not involve sin 
in the actor or needless temptation to the weak. 

The course pui'sued by our Pm^itan ancestors, in the period 
succeeding their first perils amid sickness and savages, is an ex- 
ample that may safely be practiced at the present day. The 
young of both sexes were educated in the higher branches, 
in country academies, and very often the closing exercises 
were theatricals, in which the pupils were performers and 
their pastors, elders, and parents, the audience. So, at so- 
cial gatherings, the dance was introduced before minister 
and wife, with smiling approval. The roaring fires and 
broad chimneys provided pure air, and the nine o'clock bell 
ended the festivities that gave new vigor and zest to life, 
while the dawn of the next day's light saw all at their posts 
of duty, with heartier strength and blither spirits. 

]^o indecent or unhealthful costumes ofiended the eye, 
no half-naked dancers of dubious morality were sustained 
in a life of dangerous excitement, by the money of Chris- 
tian people, for the mere amusement of their night hom-s. 
ISTo shivering drivers were deprived of comfort and sleep, 
to carry home the midnight followers of fashion ; nor was 
the quiet and comfort of servants in hundreds of dwellings 
invaded for the mere amusement of their superiors in educa- 
tion and advantages. The command "we that are strong, ought 
to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please our- 
selves," was in those days not reversed. Had the drama and 
the dance continued to be regulated by the rules of tempe- 
rance, health, and Christian benevolence, as in the days of 
our forefathers, they would not have been so generally 
banished from the religious world. And the question is 
now being discussed, whether they can be so regulated at 



* Luke xiv. In reading this passage, please notice what kind of guests 
are to be invited to the feast that Jesus Christ recommends. 



254 CABD-PLATING-NOVEL-BEADINQ. 



the present time as not to violate the laws, either of health 
or benevolence."^ 

In regard to home amusements, card-playing is now 
indulged in, in many conscientious families from which it 
formerly was excluded, and for these reasons : it is claimed 
that this is a quiet home amusement, which unites pleas- 
antly the aged with the young ; that it is not now employed 
in respectable society for gambling, as it formerly was; that 
to some young minds it is a peculiarly fascinating game, and 
should be first practiced under the parental care, till the ex- 
citement of novelty is past, thus rendering the danger to 
children less, when going into the world ; and, finally, that 
habits of self-control in exciting circumstances may and 
should be thus cultivated in the safety of home. Many 
parents who have taken this, course with their sons in early 
life, believe that it has proved rather a course of safety 
than of danger. Still, as there is great diversity of opinion, 
among persons of equal worth and intelligence, a mutual 
spirit of candor and courtesy should be practiced. The 
sneer at bigotry and narrowness of views, on one side, and 
the uncharitable implication of want of piety, or sense, on 
the other, are equally ill-bred and unchristian. Truth on 
this subject is best promoted, not by ill-natured crimination 
and rebuke, but by calm reason, generous candor, forbear- 
ance, and kindness. 

There is another species of amusement, which a large 
portion of the religious world formerly put under the same 
condemnation as the preceding. This is novel-reading. 
The confusion and difference of opinion on this subject 
have arisen from a want of clear and definite distinctions. 
Now, as it is impossible to define what are novels and what 
are not, so as to include one class of fictitious wi'itings and 
exclude every other, it is impossible to lay down any rule 
respecting them. The discussion, in fact, tm'ns on the use 
of those works of imagination which belong to the class of 
fictitious narratives. That this species of reading is not 



* Fanny Kemble Butler remarked to tlie present writer that slie re- 
garded theatres wrong, chiefly because of the injury involved to the 
actors. Can a Christian mother contribute money to support young wo- 
men in a profession from which she would protect her own daughter, 
as from degradation, and that, too, simply for the amusement of herself 
and family ? Would this be following the self-sacrificing benevolence 
of Christ and his apostles ? 



BEADING m GENERAL. - 255 



only lawful but necessary and useful, is settled by divine 
examples, in the parables and allegories of Scripture. Of 
course, the question must be, what kind of fabulous writ- 
ings must be avoided, and what allowed. 

In deciding this, no specific rules can be given ; but it 
must be a matter to be regulated by the nature and circum- 
! stances of each case. No works of fiction which tend to 
throw the allurements of taste and genius around vice and 
crime should ever be tolerated ; and all that tend to give 
false views of life and duty should also be banished. Of 
those which are written for mere amusement, presenting 
scenes and events that are interesting and exciting and hav- 
ing no bad moral influence, much must depend on the char- 
acter and circumstances of the reader. Some minds are 
torpid and phlegmatic, and need to have the imagination 
stimulated : such would be benefited by this kind of 
reading. Others have quick and active imaginations, and 
would be as much injured by excess. Some persons are 
often so engaged in absorbing interests, that any thing in- 
nocent, which will for a short time draw off the mind, is of 
the nature of a medicine ; and, in such cases, this kind of 
reading is useful. 

There is need, also, that some men should keep a super- 
vision of the current literature of the day, as guardians, to 
warn others of danger. For this purpose, it is more suitable 
for editors, clergymen, and teachers to read indiscrimi- 
nately, than for any other class of persons ; for they are the 
guardians of the public weal in matters of literature, and 
should be prepared to advise parents and young persons of 
the evils in one direction and the good in another. In do- 
ing this, however, they are bound to go on the same princi- 
ples which regulate physicians, when they visit infected dis- 
tricts — using every precaution to prevent injury to them- 
selves ; having as little to do with pernicious exposures, as 
a benevolent regard to others will allow ; and faithfully 
employing all the knowledge and opportunities thus gained 
for warning and preserving others. There is much danger, 
in taking this com^se, that men will seek the excitement of 
the imagination for the mere pleasure it affords, under the 
plea of preparing to serve the public, when this is neither 
the aim nor the result. 

In regard to the use of such works by the young, as a 
general rule, they ought not to be allowed to any except 



256 CULTIVATION OF FLOWEBS AND FBUITS. 



those of a dull and plilegmatic temperament, until the solid 
parts of education are secured and a taste for more elevated 
reading is acquired. If these stimulating condiments in 
literature be freely used in youtli, all relish for more solid 
reading will in a majority of cases be destroyed. If parents 
succeed in securing habits of cheerful and implicit obedi- 
ence, it will be very easy to regulate this matter, by prohib- 
iting the reading of any story-book, until the consent of the 
parent is obtained. 

The most successful mode of forming a taste for suitable 
reading, is for parents to select interesting works of history 
and travels, with maps and pictures suited to the age and 
attainments of the youngs and spend an hour or two each 
day or evening, in aiming to make truth as interesting as 
fiction. Whoever has once tried this method will find that 
the uninjured mind of childhood is better satisfied with 
what they know is true, when wisely presented, than with 
the most exciting novels, which they know are false. 

Perhaps there has been some just ground of objection to 
the course often pursued by parents in neglecting to pro- 
vide suitable and agreeable substitutes for the amusements 
denied. But there is a great abundance of safe, healthful, 
and delightful recreations, which all parents may secure for 
their" children. Some of these will here be pointed out. 

One of the most useful and important, is the cultivation 
of flowers and fruits. This, especially for the daughters 
of a family, is greatly promotive of health and amusement. 
It is with the hope that many young ladies, whose habits 
are now so formed that they can never be induced to a 
course of active domestic exercise so long as their parents 
are able to hire domestic service, may yet be led to an em- 
ployment which will tend to secure health and vigor of 
constitution, that much space will be given in the second 
volume of this work, to directions for the cultivation of 
fruits and flowers. 

It would be a most desirable improvement, if all schools 
for young women could be furnished with suitable grounds 
and instruments for the cultivation of fruits and flowers, 
and every inducement offered to engage the pupils in this 
pursuit. E"o father, who wishes to have his daughters to 
grow up to be healthful women, can take a surer method to 
secure this end. Let him set apart a portion of his ground 
for fruits and flowers, and see that the soil is well prepared 



OUT-DOOR PLEASTmES. 257 



and dug over, and* all the rest may be committed to the care 
of the children. These would need to be provided with a 
light hoe and rake, a dibble or garden trowel, a watering- 
pot, and means and opportunities for securing seeds, roots, 
bulbs, buds, and grafts, all which might be done at a trifling 
expense. Then, with proper encouragement and by the 
aid of a few intelligible and practical directions, every . 
man who has even half an acre could secure a small Eden 
around his premises. 

In pursuing this amusement children can also be led. to 
acquire many useful habits. Early rising would, in many 
cases, be thus secured ; and if they were required to keep 
their walks and borders free from weeds and rubbish, habits 
of order and neatness would be induced. Benevolent and 
social feelings could also be cultivated, by^ influencing 
children to share their fruits and flowers with friends and 
neighbors, as well as to distribute roots and seeds to those 
who have not the means of procuring them. A woman or 
a child, by giving seeds or slips or roots to a washerwoman, 
or a farmer's boy, thus inciting them to love and cultivate 
fruits and flowers, awakens a new and reflning source of 
enjoyment in minds which have few resources more elevat- 
ed than mere physical enjoyments. Our Saviour directs* 
us in making feasts, to call, not the rich who can recom- 
pense again, but the poor who can make no returns. So 
children should be taught to dispense their little treasures 
not alone to companions and friends, who will probably 
return similar favors ; but to those who have no means of 
making any return. If the rich who acquire a love for 
the enjoyments of taste and have the means to gratify it, 
would aim to extend among the poor the cheap and simple 
enjoyment of fruits and flowers, our country would soon 
literally "blossom as the rose." 

If the ladies of a neighborhood would unite small con- 
tributions, and send a list of flower-seeds and roots to some 
respectable and honest florist, who would not be likely to 
turn them oft' with trash, they could divide these among 
themselves and their poor neighbors, so as to secure an 
abundant variety at a very small expense. A bag of 
flower-seeds, which can be obtained at wholesale for four 
cents, would abundantly supply a whole neighborhood; 
and by the gathering of seeds in the autumn, could be 
perpetuated. 



258 MUSIC— MINERALOGY— GAMES. 



Another very elevating and delightful recreation for the 
young is found in music. Here the writer would protest 
against the practice common in many families, of having 
the daughters learn to play on the piano whether they 
have a taste and an ear for music, or not. A young lady 
who does not sing well, and has no great fondness for music, 
does nothing but waste time, money, and patience in 
learning to play on the piano. But all children can be 
taught to sing in early childhood, if the scientific mode of 
teaching music in schools could be more widely intro- 
duced, as it is in Prussia, Germany, and Switzerland. 
Then young children could read and sing music as easily 
as they can read language ; and might take any tune, 
dividing themselves into bands, and sing off at sight the 
endless variety of music which is prepared. And if 
parents of wealth would take pains to have teachers quali- 
ned for the purpose, who should teach all the young chil- 
dren in the community, much would be done for the happi- 
ness and elevation of the rising generation. This is an 
element of education which we are glad to know is, year by 
year, more extensively and carefully cultivated ; and it is 
not only a means of culture, but also an amusement, which 
, children relish in the highest degree ; and which they can 
enjoy at home, in the fields, and in visits abroad. 

Another domestic amusement is the collecting of shells, 
plants, and specimens in geology and mineralogy, for the 
formation of cabinets. If intelligent parents would pro- 
cure the simpler works which have been prepared for the 
young, and study them with their children, a taste for such 
recreations would soon be developed. The writer has seen 
young boys, of eight and ten years of age, gathering and 
cleaning shells from rivers, and collecting plants and 
mineralogical specimens, with a delight bordering on ecsta- 
sy ; and there are few, if any, who by proper influences 
would not find this a source of ceaseless delight and 
hnprovement. 

Another resource for family diversion is to be found in 
the various games played by children, and in which the 
joining of older members of the family is always a great 
advantage to both parties, especially those in the open air. 

All medical men unite in declaring that nothing is more 
beneficial to health than hearty laughter ; and surely our 
benevolent Creator would not have provided risibles, and 



USEFUL AMUSEMENTS. 259 



made it a source of health and enjoyment to use them, if 
it were a sin so to do. There has been a tendency to 
asceticism, on this subject, which needs to be removed. 
Such commands as forbid foolish laughing and jesting, 
"which are not convenient^^ and which forbid all idle 
words and vain conversation, can not apply to any thing ex- 
cept what is foolish, vain, and useless. Eut jokes, laughter, 
and sports, when used in such a degree as tends only to pro- 
mote health and happiness, are neither vain, foolish, nor 
" not convenient." It is the excess of these things, and not 
the moderate use of them, which Scripture forbids. The 
prevailing temper of the mind should be serious, yet 
cheerful ; and there are times when relaxation and laiighter 
are not only proper but necessary and right for all. There 
is nothing better for this end than that parents and older 
persons should join in the sports of childhood. Mature 
minds can always make such diversions more entertaining 
to children, and can exert a healthful moral influence over 
their minds ; and at the same time can gain exercise and 
amusement for themselves. How lamentable that so many 
fathers, who could be thus useful and happy with their 
children, throw away such opportunities, and wear out 
soul and body in the pursuit of gain or fame ! 

Another resource for children is the exercise of mechan- 
ical skill. Fathers, by providing tools for their boys, and 
showing them how to make wheelbarrows, carts, sleds, and 
various other articles, contribute both to the physical, moral, 
and social improvement of their children. And in regard 
to little daughters, much more can be done in this way than 
many would imagine. The writer, blessed with the exam- 
ple of a most ingenious and industrious mother, had not only 
learned before the age of twelve to make dolls, of various 
sorts and sizes, but to cut and fit and sew every article that 
belongs to a doll's wardrobe. This, which was done by the 
child for mere amusement, secured such a facility in me- 
chanical pursuits, that, ever afterward, the cutting and 
fitting of any article of dress, for either sex, was accom- 
plished with entire ease. 

When a little girl begins to sew, her mother can promise 
her a small bed and pillow, as soon as she has sewed a 
patch quilt for them ; and then a bedstead, as soon as she 
has sewed the- sheets and cases for pillows; and then a 
large doll to dress, as soon as she has made the under-gar- 



260 DUTIES OW PABENTS. 



ments ; and thus go on till the whole contents of the baby- 
honse are earned by the needle and skill of its little owner. 
Thus the task of learning to sew will become a pleasure ; and 
every new toy will be earned by useful exertion. A little 
girl can be taught, by the aid of patterns prepared for the 
purpose, to cut and fit all articles necessary for her doll. 
She can also be provided with a little wash-tub and irons, 
and thus keep in proper order a complete miniature domes- 
tic establishment. 

Besides these recreations, there are the enjoyments 
secured in walking, riding, visiting, and many other em- 
ployments which need not be recounted. Children, if 
trained to be healthful and industrious, will never fail to 
discover resources of amusement ; while their guardians 
should lend their aid to guide and restrain them from excess. 

There is need of a ve3w great change of opinion and 
practice in this nation in regard to the subject of social and 
domestic duties. Many sensible and conscientious men 
spend all their time abroad in business ; except perhaps an 
hour or so at night, when they are so fatigued as to be 
unfitted for any social or intellectual enjoyment. And some 
of the most conscientious men in the country will add to their 
professional business public or benevolent enterprises, which 
demand time, effort, and money ; and then excuse them- 
selves for neglecting all care of their children, and efforts 
for their own intellectual improvement, or for the improve- 
ment of their families, by the plea that they have no time 
for it. 

All this arises from the want of correct notions of the 
binding obligation of pur social and domestic duties. The 
main object of life is not to secure the various gratifications 
of appetite or taste, but to form such a character, for our- 
selves and others, as will secure the greatest amount of 
present and future happiness. It 'is of far more conse- 
quence, then, that parents should be intelligent, social, 
affectionate, and agreeable at home and to their friends, 
than that they should earn money enough to live in a large 
house and have handsome furniture. It is far more need- 
ful for children that a father should attend to the formation 
of their character and "habits, and aid in developing their 
social, intellectual, and moral nature, than it is that he 
should earn money to furnish them with handsome clothes 
and a variety of tempting food. 



FAMILY RELATIONS. 261 



It will be wise for those parents who find little time to 
attend to their children, or to seek amnsement and enjoj- 
ment in the domestic and social circle, because their time 
is so much occupied with public cares or benevolent objects, 
to inquire whether their first duty is not to train up their 
own families to be useful members of society. A man who 
neglects the mind and morals of his children, to take care 
of the public, is in great danger of coming under a similar 
condemnation to that of him who, neglecting to provide 
for his own household, has " denied the faith, and is worse 
than an infidel." 

There are husbands and fathers who conscientiously 
subtract time from their business to spend at home, in 
reading with their wives and children, and in domestic amuse- 
ments which at once refresh and improve. The children 
of such parents will grow up with a love of home and 
kindred which will be the greatest safeguard against future 
temptations, as well as the purest source of earthly 
enjoyment. 

There are families, also, who make it a definite object to 
keep up family attachments, after the children are scattered 
abroad ; and, in some cases, secure the means for doing this 
by saving money which would otherwise have been spent 
for superfluities of food or dress. Some families have 
adopted,- for this end, a practice which, if widely imitated, 
would be productive of much enjoyment. The method is 
this : On the first day of each month, some member of the 
family, at each extreme point of dispersion, takes a folio 
sheet, and fills a part of a page. This is sealed and mailed 
to the next family, who read it, add another contribution, 
and then mail it to the next. Thus the family circular, 
once a month, goes from each extreme to all the members 
of a widely-dispersed family, and each member becomes a 
sharer in the joys, sorrows, plans, and pursuits of all the 
rest. At the same time, frequent family meetings are 
sought ; and the expense thus incurred is cheerfully met by 
retrenchments in other directions. The sacrifice of some 
unnecessary physical indulgence will often pm^chase many 
social and domestic enjoyments, a thousand times more 
elevating and delightful than the retrenched luxury. 

There is no social duty w^hich the Supreme Law-giver 
more strenuously urges than hospitality and kindness to 
strangers, who are classed with the widow and the fatherless 



262 TRUE EOSPITALITT. 



as tlie special objects -of Divine tenderness. There are some 
reasons why this duty peculiarly demands attention from 
the American people. 

Eeverses of fortune, in this land, are so frequent and un- 
expected, and the habits of the people are so migratory, that 
there are very many in every part of the country who, hav- 
ing seen all their temporal plans and hopes crushed, are now 
pining among strangers, bereft of wonted comforts, without 
friends, and without the sympathy and society so needful to 
wounded spirits. Such, too frequently, sojourn long and 
lonely, with no comforter but Him who "knoweth the 
heart of a stranger." 

Whenever, therefore, new-comers enter a community, 
inquiry should immediately be made as to whether they have 
friends or associates, to render sympathy and kind atten- 
tions ; and, when there is any need for it, the ministries of 
kind neighborliness should immediately be offered. And it 
should be remembered that the first days of a stranger's 
sojourn are the most dreary, and that civility and kindness 
are doubled in value by being offered at an early period. 

In social gatherings the claims of the stranger are too 
apt to be forgotten ; especially in cases where there are no 
peculiar attractions of personal appearance, or talents, or 
high standing. Such a one should be treated with attention, 
because he is a stranger ; and when communities learn to 
act more from principle, and less from selfish impulse, on 
this subject, the sacred claims of the stranger will be less 
frequently forgotten. 

The most agreeable hospitality to visitors who become 
inmates of a family, is that which puts them entirely at 
ease. This can never be the case where the guest per- 
ceives that the order of family arrangement is essentially 
altered, and that time, comfort, and convenience are sacri- 
ficed for his accommodation. 

Offering the best to visitors, shovsdng a polite regard to 
every wish expressed, and giving precedence to them, in all 
matters of comfort and convenience, can be easily combined 
with the easy freedom which makes the stranger feel at 
home; and this is the perfection of hospitable entertain- 
ment. 



xxiy. 

CAEE OF THE AGED. 

One of the most interesting and instructive illustrations 
of the design of onr Creator, in the institution of the family 
state, is the preservation of the aged after their faculties 
decaj and usefulness in ordinary modes seems to be ended. 
By most persons this period of infirmities and uselessness is 
anticipated with apprehension, especially in the case of 
those who have lived an active, useful life, giving largely of 
service to others, and dependent for most resources of en- 
joyment on their own energies. 

To lose the resources of sight or hearing, to become fee- 
ble in body, so as to depend on the ministries of others, and 
finally to gradually decay in mental force and intelligence, 
to many seems far worse than death. Multitudes have 
prayed to be taken from this life when their usefulness is 
thus ended. 

But a true view of the design of the family state, and of 
the ministry of the aged and helpless in carrying out this 
design, would greatly lessen such apprehensions, and might 
be made a source of pure and elevated enjoyment. 

The Christian virtues of patience with the unreasonable, 
of self-denying labor for the weak, and of sympathy with 
the afflicted, are dependent, to a great degree, on cultivation 
and habit, and these can be gained only in circumstances 
demanding the daily exercise of these graces. In this as- 
pect, continued life in the aged and infirm should be re- 
garded as a blessing and privilege to a family, especially to 
the young, and the cultivation of the graces that are de- 
manded by that relation should be made a definite and in- 
teresting part of their education. A few of the methods to 
be attempted for this end will be suggested. 

In the first place, the object for which the aged are pre- 
served in life, when in many cases they would rejoice to de- 
part, should be definitely kept in recollection, and a sense 



264 CHEERING THE AGED. 



of gratitude and obligation be cultivated. They should be 
looked up to and treated as ministers sustained by our 
Heavenly Father in a painful experience, expressly for the 
good of those around them. This appreciation of their 
ministry and usefulness will greatly lessen their trials and 
impart consolation. If in hours of weariness and infirmity 
they wonder why they are kept in a useless and helpless 
state to burden others around, they should be assured that 
they are not useless ; and this not only by word, but, better 
still, by the manifestation of those virtues which such op- 
portunities alone can secure. 

Another mode of cheering the aged is to engage them in 
the domestic games . and sports which unite the old and 
.the young in amusement. Many a weary hour may thus 
be enlivened for the benefit of all concerned. And here 
will often occur opportunities of self-denying benevolence 
in relinquishing personal pursuits and gratification thus to 
promote the enjoyment of the infirm and dependent. Read- 
ing aloud is often a great source of enjoyment to those who 
by age are deprived of reading for themselves.. So the effort 
to 'gather news of the neighborhood and impart it, is an- 
other mode of relieving those deprived of social gatherings. 

There is no period in life when those courtesies of good 
breeding which recognize the relations of superior and in- 
ferior should be more carefully cherished than when there 
is need of showing them toward those of advancing age. 
To those who have controlled a household, and still more to 
those w^ho in public life have been honored and admired, 
the decay of mental powers is peculiarly trying, and every 
effort should be made to lessen the trial by courteous atten- 
tion to tlieir opinions, and by avoiding all attempts to con- 
trovert them, or to make evident any weakness or fallacy in 
their conversation. 

In regard to the decay of bodily or mental faculties, much 
more can be done to prevent or retard them than is gen- 
rally supposed, and some methods for this end which 
have been gained by observation or experience will be pre- 
sented. 

As the exercise of all our faculties tends to increase their 
power, unless it be carried to excess, it is very important 
that the aged should be provided with useful employment, 
suited to their strength and capacity. ISTothing hastens de- 
cay so fast as to remove the stimulus of useful activity. It 



EMPLOYMENTS FOB THE AGED. 265 



should become a study with those who have the care of the 
aged to interest them in some useful pursuit, and to con- 
vince them that they are in some measure actively con- 
tributing to the general welfare. In the country and in 
families where the larger part of the domestic labor is done 
without servants, it is very easy to keep up an interest in 
domestic industrial employments. The tending of a small 
garden in summer — the preparation of fuel and food — the 
mending of household utensils — these and many other occu- 
pations of the hands will keep alive activity and interest, in a 
man ; while for women there are still more varied resom*ces. 
There is nothing that so soon hastens decay and lends 
acerbity to age as giving up all business and responsibility, 
and every mode possible should be devised to prevent this 
result. 

As age advances, all the bodily functions move more 
slowly, and consequently the generation of animal heat, 
by the union of oxygen and carbon in the capillaries, is in 
smaller proportion than in the midday of life. For this 
reason some practices, safe for the vigorous, must be relin- 
quished by the aged ; and one of these is the use of the 
cold bath. It has often been the case that rheumatism has 
been caused by neglect of this caution. More than or- 
dinary care should be taken to preserve animal heat in 
the aged, especially in the hands and the feet. 

In many families will be found an aged brother, or sis- 
ter, or other relative who has no home, and no claim to a 
refuge in the family circle but that of kindred. Some- 
times they are poor and homeless, for want of a faculty for 
self-sup23orting business ; and sometimes they have peculi- 
arities of person or disposition which render their society 
undesirable. These are cases where the pitying tenderness 
of the Saviour should be remembered, and for his sake 
patient kindness and tender care be given, and he will 
graciQusly accept it as an offering of love and duty to him- 
self. " Inasmuch as ye have done it to the least of these 
my brethren, ye have done it to me." 

It is sometimes the case that even parents in old age 
have had occasion to say with the forsaken King Lear, 
" How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is to have a thank- 
less child !" It is right training in early life alone that 
will save from this. 

In the opening of China and the probable influx of its 



266 CHINESE COURTESY. 



people, there is one cause for congratulation to a nation 
that is failing in the virtue of reverence. The Chinese are 
distinguished above all other nations for their respect for 
the aged, and especially for their reverence for aged pa- 
rents and conformity to their authority, even to the last. 
This virtue is cultivated to a degree that is remarkable, 
and has produced singular and favorable results on the 
national character, which it is hoped may be imparted to 
the land to which they are flocking in such multitudes. 
For with all their peculiarities of pagan philosophy and 
their oriental eccentricities of custom and practical life, 
they are everywhere renowned for their, uniform and ele- 
gant courtesy — a most commendable virtue, and one ari- 
sing from habitual deference to the aged more than from 
any other source. 



XXV. 

THE CAUB OF SERVANTS. 

Ai^THorGH in earlier ages the highest born, wealthiest, 
and proudest ladies were skilled in the simple labors of the 
household, the advance of society toward luxury has 
changed all that in lands of aristocracy and classes, and at 
the present tirde America is the only country where there 
is a class of women who may be described as ladies who do 
their own work. By a lady we mean a woman of educa- 
tion, cultivation, and refinement, of liberal tastes and ideas, 
who, without any very material additions or changes, would 
be recognized as a lady in any circle of the Old World or 
the New. 

The existence of such a class is a fact peculiar to Ameri- 
can society, a plain result of the new principles involved in 
the doctrine of universal equality. 

When the colonists first came to this country, of however 
mixed ingredients their ranks might have been composed, 
and however imbued with the spirit of feudal and aristo- 
cratic ideas, the discipline of the wilderness soon brought 
them to a dernxocratic level ; the gentleman felled the wood 
for his log-cabin side by side with the plowman, and 
thews and sinews rose in the market. " A man was deemed 
honorable in proportion as he lifted his hand upon the high 
trees of the forest." So in the interior domestic circle. 
Mistress and maid, living in a log-cabin together, became 
companions, and sometimes the maid, as the one well-trained 
in domestic labor, took precedence of the mistress. It also 
became natural and unavoidable that children should begin 
to work as early as they were capable of it. 

The result was a generation of intelligent people brought 
up to labor from necessity, but devoting to the problem of la- 
bor the acutenesfe of a disciplined brain. The mistress, out- 
done in sinews and jnuscles by her maid, kept her superior- 



268 EARLY NEW-ENGLAND. 



ity by skill and contrivance. If she could not lift a pail of 
water, she conld invent methods which made lifting the 
pail unnecessiiry ; if she cotild not take a hundred steps 
without weariness, she could make twenty answer the pur- 
pose of a hundred. 

Slavery, it is true, was to some extent introduced into 
New- England, but it never suited the genius of the people, 
never struck deep root or spread so as to choke the good 
seed of self -helpfulness. Many were opposed to it from 
conscientious principle — many from far-sighted thrift, 
and from a love of thoroughness and well-doing which de- 
spised the rude, unskilled work of barbarians. People, hav- 
ing once felt the thorough neatness and beauty of execution 
which came of free, educated, and thoughtful labor, could 
not tolerate the clumsiness of slavery. 

Thus it came to pass that for many years the rural popu- 
lation of ISTew-England, as a general rule, did their own 
work, both out-doors and in. If there were ia black man 
or black woman or bound girl, they were emphatically only 
the lielps^ following humbly the steps of master and mis- 
tress, and used by them as instruments of lightening cer- 
tain portions of their toil. The master and mistress, with 
their children, were the head workers. 

Great merriment has been excited in the old country 
because, years ago, the first English travelers found that 
the class of persons by them denominated servants, were in 
America denominated Ae/^, or helpers. But the term was 
the very best exponent of the state of society. There 
were few servants, in the European sense , of the 
word ; there was a society of educated workers, where all 
were practically equal, and where, if there was a deficiency" 
in one family and an excess in another, a helper^ not a ser- 
vant in the European sense, was hired. Mrs.' Brown, who 
has several sons and no daughters, enters into agreement 
with Mrs. Jones, who has several daughters and no sons. 
She borrows a daughter, and pays her good wages to help 
in her domestic toil, and sends a son to help the labors of 
Mr. Jones. These two young people go into the families 
in which they are to be employed in all respects as equals 
and companions, and so the work of the community is 
equalized. Hence arose, and for many years continued, a 
state of society more nearly solving than any other ever 
did the problem of combining the highest culture of the 



DAYS OF HEALTH AND HAPPINESS. 269 



mind witli th^ liigliest culture of the muscles and the phy- 
sical faculties. 

Then were to he seen families of daughters, handsome, 
strong women, rising each day to their in-door work with 
cheerful alertness — one to sweep the room, another to make 
the fire, while a third prepared the breakfast for the father 
and brothers who were going out to manly labor : and they 
chatted meanwhile of books, studies, embroidery ; discussed, 
the last new poem, or some historical topic started by graver 
reading, or perhaps a rural ball that was to come ofi' next 
week. They spun with the book tied to the distaff; they 
wove ; they did all manner of fine needle-work ; they made 
lace, painted flowers, and, in short, in the boundless con- 
sciousness of activity, invention, and perfect health, set 
themselves to any work they had ever read or thought of. 
A bride in those days was married with sheets and table- 
cloths of her own weaving, with counterpanes and toilet- 
covers wi'ought in divers embroidery by her own and her sis- 
ters' hands. The amount of fancy-work done in our days 
by girls' who have nothing ^Ise to do, will not equal what 
was done by these who performed, besides, among them, 
the whole work of the family. 

In those former days most women were in good health, 
debility and disease being the exception. Then, too, was 
seen the economy of daylight and its pleasures. They 
were used to early rising, and would not lie in bed, if they 
could. Long years of practice made them familiar with 
the shortest, neatest, most expeditious method of doing 
every household ofiice, so that really for the greater part 
of the time in the house there seemed, to a looker-on, to 
be nothing to do. They rose in the morning and dis- 
patched husband, father, and brothers to the farm or wood- 
lot ; went sociably about, chatting with each other, skimmed 
the milk, made the butter, and tm-ned the cheeses. The 
forenoon was long ; ten to one, all the so-called morning 
work over, they had leisure for an hour's sewing or reading 
before it was thne to start the dinner preparations. By two 
o'clock the house-work was done, • and they had the long 
afternoon for books, needle-work, or drawing — for perhaps 
there was one with a gift at her pencil. Perhaps one read 
aloud while others sewed, and managed in that way to 
keep up a great deal of reading. 

It is said that women who have been accustomed to do- 



270 THE BEAD SAVES THE HANDS. 



ing their own work become hard mistresses. They are 
certainly more sure of the ground they stand on — they are 
less open to imposition — they can speak and act in their own 
houses more as those "having authority," and therefore are 
less afraid to exact what is justly their due, and less willing 
to endure impertinence and unfaithfulness. Their general 
error lies in expecting that any servant ever will do as well 
for them as they will do for themselves, and that an un- 
trained, undisciplined human being ever can do house-work, 
or any other work, with the neatness and perfection that a 
person of trained intelligence can. 

It has been remarked in our armies that the men of cul- 
tivation, though bred in delicate and refined spheres, can bear 
up under the hardships of camp-life better and longer than 
rough laborers. The reason is, that an educated mind 
knows how to use and save its body, to work it and spare 
it, as an uneducated mind can not ; and so the college-bred 
youth brings himself safely through fatigues which kill the 
unreflective laborer. 

Cultivated, intelligent women, who are brought up to do 
the work of their own families, are labor-saving institutions. 
They make the head save the wear of the muscles. By 
forethought, contrivance, system, and arrangement they 
lessen the . amount to be done, and do it with less expense 
of time and strength than others. The old l^ew-England 
motto. Get your work done up in the forenoon^ applied to an 
amount of work which would keep a common Irish servant 
toiling from daylight to sunset. 

A lady living in one of our obscure New-England towns, 
where there were no servants to be hired, at last, by sending 
to a distant city, succeeded in procuring a raw Irish maid-of- 
all-work, a creature of immense bone and muscle, but of 
heavy, unawakened brain. In one fortnight she established 
such a reign of Chaos and old Night in the kitchen and 
through the house that her mistress, a delicate woman, en- 
cumbered with the care of young children, began seriously 
to think that she made more work each day than she per- 
formed, and dismissed her. What was now to be done ? 
Fortunately, the daughter of a neighboring farmer was go- 
ing to be married in six months, and wanted a little ready 
money for her trousseau. The lady was informed that 
Miss So-and-so would come to her, not as a servant, but 
as hired " help." She was fain to accept any help with 
gladness. 



EXEMPLIFICATION. 271 



Forth with came into the family-circle a tall, well-dressed 
young person, grave, unobtrusive, self-respecting, yet not in 
the least presuming, who sat at the family table and ob- 
served all its decorums with the modest self-possession of a 
lady. The new-comer took a survey of the labors of a 
family of ten members, including four or ^nq young chil- 
dren, and, looking, seemed at once to throw them into sys- 
tem ; matured her plans, arranged her hours of washing, 
ironing, baking, and cleaning ; rose early, moved deftly ; 
and in a single day the slatternly and littered kitchen 
assumed that neat, orderly appearance that so often strikes 
one in ]S[ew-England farm-houses. The work seemed to be 
all gone. Every thing was nicely washed, brightened, put 
in place, and staid in place ; the floors, when cleaned, re- 
mained clean ; the work was always done, and not doing ; 
and every afternoon the young lady sat neatly dressed in 
her own apartment, either quietly writing letters to her be- 
trothed, or sewing on her bridal outfit. Such is the result 
of employing those who have been brought up to do their 
own work. That tall, fine-looking girl, for aught we know, 
may yet be mistress of a fine house on Fifth Avenue ; and 
if she is, she will, we fear, prove rather an exacting mis- 
tress to Irish Bridget ; out she will never be threatened by 
her cook and chambermaid, after the first one or two have 
tried the experiment. 

Those remarkable women of old were made by circum- 
stances. There were, comparatively speaking, no servants 
to be had, and so children were trained to habits of indus- 
try and mechanical adroitness from the cradle, and every 
household process was reduced to the very minimum of labor. 
Every step required in a process was counted, every move- 
ment calculated ; and she who took ten steps, when one 
would do, lost her reputation for " faculty." Certainly such 
an early drill was of use in developing the health and the 
bodily powers, as well as in giving precision to the practi- 
cal mental faculties. All household economies were ar- 
ranged with equal niceness in those thoughtful minds. A 
trained housekeeper knew just how many sticks of hickory 
of a certain size were required to heat her oven, and how 
many of each different kind of wood. She knew by a sort 
of intuition just what kinds of food would yield the most 
palatable nutriment with the least outlay of accessories in 
cooking. She knew to a minute the time when each arti- 



272 EARDSHIPS OF MODERN HOUSEKEEPING. 



cle mnst go into and be withdrawn from lier oven ; and if 
she conld only lie in her chamber and direct, she could 
guide an intelligent child through the processes with 
mathematical certainty. 

. It is impossible, however, that any thing but early train- 
ing and long experience can produce these results, and it 
is earnestly to be wished that the grandmothers of JSTew- 
England had written down their experiences for our chil- 
dren ; they would have been a mine of maxims and tradi- 
tions better than any other " traditions of the elders " which 
we know of. 

In this country, our democratic institutions have removed 
the superincumbent pressure which in the Old World con- 
fines the servants to a regular orbit. They come here feel- 
ing that this is somehow a land of liberty, and with very 
dim and confused notions of what liberty is. They are 
very extensively the raw, untrained Irish peasantry^ and the 
wonder is, that, with all the unreasoning heats and preju- 
dices of the Celtic blood, all the necessary ignorance and 
rawness, there should be the measure of comfort and suc- 
cess there is in our domestic arrangements. 

But, as long as things are so, there will be constant 
changes and interruptions in every liomestic establishment, 
and constantly recurring interregnums when the mistress 
must put her own hand to the work, whether the hand be 
a trained or an untrained one. As matters now are, the 
young housekeeper takes life at the hardest. She has very 
little strength — no experience to teach her how to save her 
strength. She knows nothing experimentally of the sim- 
plest processes necessary to keep her family comfortably 
fed and clothed ; and she has a way of looking at all these 
things which makes them particulariy hard and distasteful 
to her. She does not escape being obliged to do house- work 
at intervals, but she does it in a weak, blundering, confused 
way, that makes it twice as hard and disagreeable as it 
need be. 

JSTow, if every young woman learned to do house- work, 
and cultivated her practical faculties in early life, she 
would, in the first place, be much more likely to keep her 
servants, and, in the second place, if she lost them tempo- 
rarily, would avoid all that wear and tear of the nervous 
system which comes from constant ill-success in those de^ 
partments on which family health and temper mainly 



THE MISTEESS MUST BE A TEACHER. 2 '73 



depend. This is one of the peculiarities of our American 
life which require a peculiar training. Why not face it 
sensibly? 

Our land is now full of motorpathic institutions to which 
women are sent at a great expense to have hired operators 
stretch and exercise their inactive muscles. They lie for 
hours to have their feet twigged, their arms flexed, and all 
the different muscles of the body worked for them, because 
they are so flaccid and torpid that the powers of life do not 
go on. Would it not be quite as cheerful, and a less expen- 
sive process, if young girls from early life developed the 
muscles in sweeping, dusting, starching, ironing, and all 
the multiplied domestic processes which our grandmothers 
knew of ? A woman who did all these, and diversified the 
intervals with spinning on the great and little wheel, did 
not need the gymnastics of Dio Lewis or of the Swedish 
Movement Cure, which really are a necessity now. Does it 
not seem poor economy to pay servants for letting our 
muscles grow feeble, and then to pay operators to exercise 
them for us ? I will venture to say that our grandmothers 
in a week went over every movement that any gymnast 
has invented, and went over them to some productive 
purpose too. 

The first business of a housekeeper in America is that of 
a teacher. She can have a good table only by having prac- 
tical knowledge, and tact in imparting it. If she under- 
stands her business practically and experimentally, her eye 
detects at once the weak spot; it requires only a little tact, 
some patience, some clearness in giving directions, and all 
comes right. 

If we carry a watch to a watchmaker, and undertake to 
show him how to regulate the machinery, he laughs and 
goes on his own way ; but if a brother-machinist makes 
suggestions, he listens respectfully. So, when a woman 
who knows nothing of woman's work undertakes to instruct 
one who knows more than she does, she makes no impres- 
sion ; but a woman who has been trained experimentally, 
and shows she understands the matter thoroughly, is listened 
to with respect. 

Let a woman make her own bread for one month, and, 
simple as the " process seems, it will take as long as that to 
get a thorough knowledge of all the possibilities in the 
case; but after that, she will be able to command good 



274 TEE TBAINING OF SEBYANTS. 



bread by the aid of all sorts of servants ; in other words, will 
be a thoroughly prepared teacher. 

Although bread-making seems a simple process, it yet re- 
quires delicate care and watchfulness. There are fifty ways 
to spoil good bread ; there are a hundred little things to be 
considered and allowed for, that require accurate observa- 
tion and experience. The same process that will raise good 
bread in cold weather will make sour bread in the heat of 
summer; different qualities of flour require variations in 
treatment, as also different sorts and conditions of yeast ; 
and when all is done, the baking presents another series of 
possibilities which require exact attention. 

A well-trained mind, accustomed to reflect, analyze, and 
generalize, has an advantage over uncultured minds even of 
double experience. Poor as your cook is, she now knows 
more of lier business than you do. After a very brief period 
of attention and experiment, you will not only know more 
than she does, but you will convince her that you do, which 
is quite as much to the purpose. 

In the same manner, lessons must be given on the 
washing of silver and the making of beds. Good servants 
do not often come to us ; they must be made by patience 
and training; and if a girl has a good disposition and a 
reasonable degree of handiness, and the housekeeper under- 
stands her profession, a good servant may be made out of 
an indifferent one. Some of the best girls have been those 
who came directly from the ship, with no preparation but 
docility and some natural quickness. The hardest cases to 
be managed are not of those who have been taught nothing, 
but of those who have. been taught wrongly — who come 
self-opinionated, with ways which are distasteful, and con- 
trary to the genius of one's housekeeping. Such require 
that their mistress shall understand at least so much of the 
actual conduct of affairs as to prove to the servant that 
there are better ways than those in which she has been 
trained. 

So much has been said of the higher sphere of woman, 
and so much has been done to find some better work for 
her that, insensibly, almost every body begins to feel that it 
is rather degrading for a woman in good society to be much 
tied down to family affairs ; especially since in these Wo- 
man's Eights Conventions there is so much dissatisfaction 
expressed at those who would confine her ideas to the 
kitclien and nursery. 



WHAT THE RIGHTS OF WOMAN REALLY ARE. 275 



Yet these Woman's Rights ' Conventions are a protest 
against many former absm-d, unreasonable ideas — the mere 
physical and culinary idea, of womanhood as connected only 
with puddings and shirt-buttons, the unjust and unequal 
burdens which the laws of harsher ages had cast upon the 
sex. Many of the women connected with these movements 
are as superior in every thing properly womanly as they 
are in exceptional talent and culture. There is no manner 
of doubt that the sphere of woman is properly to be 
enlarged. Every woman has rights as a human being 
which belong to no sex, and ought to be as freely conceded 
to her as if she were a man — and first and foremost, the 
great right of doing any thing which God and nature evi- 
dently have fitted her to excel in. If she be made a natural 
orator, like Miss Dickinson, or a,n astronomer, like Mrs. 
Somerville, or a singer, like Grisi, let not the technical rules 
of womanhood be thrown in the way of her free use of her 
powers. 

Still, per contra^ there has been a. great deal of crude, dis- 
agreealole talk in these conventions, and too great tendency 
of the age to make the education of woman anti-domestic. 
It seems as if the world never could advance, except like 
ships under a head-wind, tacking and going too far, now in 
this direction, and now in the opposite. Om' common- 
school system now rejects sewing from the education of 
girls, which very properly used to occupy many hours daily 
in school a generation ago. The daughters of laborers and 
ai'tisans are put through algebra, geometry, trigonometry, 
and the higher mathematics, to the entire neglect of that 
learning which belongs distinctively, to woman. A girl of- 
ten can not keep pace with her class, if she gives any time 
to domestic matters ; and accordingly she is excused from 
them all dm'ing the whole term of her education. The boy 
of a family, at an early age, is put to a trade, or the labors of 
a farm ; the father becomes impatient of his su]:)port, and 
requires of him to take care for himself. Ileace an in- 
terrupted education — learning coming by snatches in tho 
winter months or in the intervals of work. 

As the result, the young women in some of our country 
towns are, in mental culture, much in advance of the males 
of the same household ; but with this comes a physical deli- 
cacy, the result of an exclusive use of the brain and a 
neglect of the muscular system, with great inefficiency in 



276 PRESENT CONDITION OF DOMESTIC SEBVICE. 



practical domestic duties. The race of strong, hardy, cheer- 
ful girls, that used to grow up in country places, and made 
the bright, neat, ISTew-England kitchens of old times — the 
girls that could wasli, iron, brew, bake, harness a horse and 
drive him, no less than braid straw, embroider, draw, paint, 
and read innumerable books — this race of women, pride of 
olden time, is daily lessening ; and in their stead come the 
fragile, easily-fatigued, languid girls of a modern age, 
drilled in book-learning, ignorant of common things. The 
great danger of all this, and of the evils that come from it, 
is, that society, by and by, will turn as blindly against female 
intellectual cultm^e as it now advocates it, and having 
worked disproportionately one way, will work dispropor- 
tionately in the opposite direction. 

Domestic service is the great problem of life here in. Amer- 
ica ; the happiness of families, their thrift, well-being, and 
comfort, are more affected by this than by any one thing else. 
The modern girls, as they have been brought up, can not 
perform the labor of their own families as in those simpler, 
old-fashioned days ; and what is worse, they have no practical 
skill with which to instruct servants, who come to us, as a 
class, raw and untrained. In the present state of prices, 
the board of a domestic costs double her wages, and the 
waste she makes is a' more serious matter still. 

Many of the domestic evils in America originate in the 
fact that, while society here is professedly based on new 
principles which ought to make social life in every respect 
different from the life of the Old World, yet these prin- 
ciples have never been so thought out and applied as 
to give consistency and harmony to our daily relations. 
America starts with a political organization based on a 
declaration of the primitive freedom and equality of 
all men. Every human being, according to this principle, 
stands on the same natural level with every other, and has 
the same chance to rise according to the degree of power or 
capacity given by the Creator. All our civil institutions 
are designed to preserve this equality, as far as possible, 
from generation to generation : there is no entailed prop- 
erty, there are no hereditary titles, no monopolies, no privi- 
leged classes — all are to be as free to rise and fall as the 
waves of the sea. 

The condition of domestic service, however, still retains 
about it something of the influences from feudal times, and 



E4MLY CONDITIONS OF DOMESTIC SERVICE. 2l*7 



. from the near presence of slavery in neighboring States. 
All English literature of the world describes domestic 
service in the old feudal spirit and with the old feudal 
language, which regarded the master as belonging to a 
privileged class and the servant to an inferior one. There 
is not a play, not a poem, not a novel, not a history, that 
does not present this view. The master's rights, like the 
rights of kings, were supposed to rest in his being born in a 
superior rank. The good servant was one who, from child- 
hood, had learned "to order himself lowly and reverently 
to all his betters." When JN^ew-England brought to these 
shores the theory of democracy, she brought, in the persons 
of the first pilgrims, the habits of thought and of action 
formed in aristocratic communities. Winthrop's Journal, 
and all the old records of the earliei' colonists, show house- 
holds where masters and mistresses stood on the " right di- 
vine" of the privileged classes, howsoever they might have 
risen jxp against authorities themselves. 

The first consequence of this state of things was a uni- 
versal rejection of domestic service in all classes of Ameri- 
can-born society. For a generation or two there was, in- 
deed, a sort of interchange of family strength — sons and 
daughters engaging in the service of neighboring families, 
in default of a suflicient working-force of their own — but 
always on conditions of strict equality. The assistant was 
to share the table, the family sitting-room, and every honor 
and attention that might be claimed by son or daughter. 
When families increased in refinement and education so as 
to make these conditions of close intimacy with more un- 
cultured neighbors disagreeable, they had to choose between 
such intimacies and the performance of their own domestic 
toil. ISTo wages could induce a son or daughter of ^NTew- 
England to take the condition of a servant on terms which 
they thought applicable to that of a slave. Th,e slightest 
hint of a separate table was resented as an insult ; not to 
enter the front door, and not to sit in the front parlor on 
state occasions, was bitterly commented on as a personal 
indignity. 

The well-taught, self-respecting daughters of ifarmers, 
the class most valuable in domestic service, gradually re- 
tired from it. They preferred any other employment, how- 
ever laborious. Beyond all doubt, the labors of a well-regu- 
lated family are more healthy, more cheerful, more inter- 



27S IBISE AND GEBMAN 8EEYANT8. 



esting, because less monotonous, than the mechanical toils , 
of a factory ; yet the girls of ifew-England, with one con- 
sent, preferred the factory, and left the whole business of 
domestic service to a foreign population ; and they did it 
mainly because they would not take positions in families 
as an inferior laboring-class by the side of others of their 
own age who' assumed as their prerogative to live without 
labor. 

" I can't let you have one of my daughters," said an 
energetic matron to her neighbor from the city, who was 
seeking for a servant in her summer vacation ; " if you 
hadn't daughters of your own, may be I would ; but my 
girls are not going to work so that your girls may live in 
idleness." 

It was vain to offer money. " We don't need your money, 
ma'am ; we can support ourselves in other ways ; my girls 
can braid straw, and bind shoes, but they are not going to 
be slaves to any body." 

In the Irish and German servants who took the place of 
Americans in families, there was, to begin with, the tradi- 
tion of education in favor of a higher class ; but even the 
foreign population became more or less infected with the 
spirit of democracy. They came to this country with 
vague notions of freedom and equality, and in ignorant and 
uncultivated people such ideas are often more unreasonable 
for being vague. They did not, indeed, claim a seat at the 
table and in the parlor, but they repudiated many of those 
habits of respect and courtesy which belonged to their 
former condition, and asserted their own will and way in 
the round, unvarnished phrase which they supposed to be 
their right as republican citizens. Life became a sort of 
domestic wrangle and struggle between the employers, 
who secretly confessed their weakness, but endeavored 
openly to, assume the air and bearing of authority, and 
the employed, who knew their power and insisted on their 
privileges. • 

From this cause domestic service in America has had less 
of mutual kindliness than in old coimtries. Its terms have 
been so ill-understood and defined that both parties have as- 
sumed the defensive ; and a common topic of conversation 
in American female society has often been the general ser- 
vile war which in one form or another was going on in 
their different families — a war as interminable as Would be 



ENGLISH AND AMERICAN DOMESTIC SERVICE. 279 



a struggle between aristocracy and common people, unde- 
fined by any bill of rights or constitution, and therefore 
opening fields for endless disputes. 

In England, the class who go to service are a class, and 
service is a profession; the distance between them. and their 
employers is so marked and defined, and all the customs 
and requirements of the position are so perfectly under- 
stood, that the master or mistress has no fear of being com- 
promised by condescension, and no need of the external voice 
or air of authoi'ity. The higher up in the social scale one 
goes, the more courteous seems to become the intercourse 
of master and servant; the more perfect and real the 
power, the more is it vailed in outward expression — com- 
mands are phrased as requests, and gentleness of voice and 
manner covers an authority which no one would think of 
ofiending without trembling. 

But in America all is undefined. In the first place, 
there is no class who mean to make domestic service a pro- 
fession to live and die in. It is universally an expedient, a 
stepping-stone to something higher ; your best servants al- 
.ways have some thing else in view as soon as they have laid 
by a little money ; some form of independence which shall 
give them a home of their own is constantly in mind. 
Families look forw^ard to the buying of landed homesteads, 
and the scattered brothers and sisters work awhile in do- 
mestic service to gain the common fund for the purpose ; 
your seamstress intends to become a dressmaker, and take 
in work at her own house ; your cook is pondering a mar- 
riage with the baker, which shall transfer her toils from 
your cooking-stove to her own. 

Young women are eagerly rushing into every other em- 
ployment, till feminine trades and callings are all over- 
stocked. We are continually harrowed with tales of the 
sufierings of distressed needle-women, of the exactions and 
extortions practiced on the frail sex in the many branches 
of labor and trade at which they try their hands ; and yet 
women will encounter all these chances of ruin and starva- 
tion rather than make up their minds to permanent domes- 
tic service. 

]S"ow, what is the matter with domestic service ? One 
would think, on the face of it, that a calling which gives a 
settled home, a comfortable room, rent-free, with fire and 
lights, good board and lodging, and steady, well-paid wages, 



280 ILL-DEFINED CONDITION OF DOMESTIC SEBYICK 



would certainly offer more attractions than the making ol 
shirts for tenpence, with all the risks of providing one's 
own sustenance and shelter. 

Is it not mainly from the want of a definite idea of the 
true position of a servant under our democratic institu- 
tions that domestic service is so shunned and avoided in 
America, and that it is the very last thing which an intelli- 
gent young woman will look to for a living ? It is more 
the want of personal respect toward those in that position 
than the labor incident to it which repels ou?r people from 
it. Many would be willing to perform these labors, but 
they are not willing to place themselves in a situation 
where their self-respect is hourly wounded by the implica- 
tion of a degree of inferiority, which does not folloio any Mnd 
of labor or service in this country hut that of the family. 

There exists in the minds of employers an unsuspected 
spirit of superiority, which is stimulated into an active 
form by the resistance which democracy inspires in the 
working-class. Many families think of servants only as a 
necessary evil, their wages as exactions, and all that is al- 
lowed them as so much taken from the family ; and they, 
seek in every way to get from them as much and to give 
them as little as possible. Their rooms are the neglected, 
ill-furnished, incommodious ones — and the kitchen is the 
most cheerless and comfortless place in the house. 

Other families, more good-natured and liberal, provide 
their domestics with more suitable accommodations, and 
are more indulgent; but there is still a latent spirit of 
something like contempt for the position. That they treat 
their servants with so much consideration seems to them a 
merit entitling them to the most prostrate gratitude ; and 
they are constantly disappointed and shocked at that want 
of sense of inferiority on the part of these people which 
leads them to appropriate pleasant rooms, good furniture, 
and good living as mere matters of common justice. 

It seems to be a constant surprise to some employers that 
servants should insist on having the same human wants as 
themselves. Ladies who yawn in their elegantly furnished 
parlors, among books and pictures, if they have not com- 
pany, parties, or opera to diversify the evening, seem as- 
tonished and half indignant that cook and chambermaid 
are more disposed to go out for an evening gossip than to 
sit on hard chairs in the kitchen where they have been toil- 



ABSURDITIES OF EMPLOYERS. 281 



ing all day. The pretty chambermaid's anxieties about her 
dress, the minutes she spends at her small and not very 
clear mirror, are sneeringly noticed by those whose toilet- 
cares take up serious hours ; and the question has never ap- 
parently occurred to them why a serving-maid should not 
want to look pretty as well as her mistress. She is a wo- 
man as well as they, with all a woman's wants and weak- 
nesses ; and her dress is as much to her as theirs to them. 

A vast deal of trouble among servants arises from im- 
pertinent interferences and ]3etty tyrannical exactions on the 
paxt of employers. Now, the authority of the master and 
mistress of a house in regard to their domestics extends 
simply to the things they have contracted to do and the 
hours during which they have contracted to serve ; other- 
wise than this, they have no more right to interfere with 
them in the disposal of their time than with any mechanic 
whom they employ. They have, indeed, a right to regulate 
the hours of their own household, and servants can choose 
between conformity to these hours and the loss of their 
situation ; but, within reasonable limits, their right to come 
and go at their own discretion, in their own time, should be 
unquestioned. . 

If employers are troubled by the fondness of their ser- 
vants for dancing, evening company, and late hom^s, the 
proper mode of proceeding is to make these matters a sub- 
ject of distinct contract in hiring. The more strictly and 
perfectly the business matters of the first engagement of 
domestics are conducted, the more likelihood there is of 
mutual quiet and satisfaction in the relation. It is qidte 
competent to every housekeeper to say, what practices are 
or are not consistent with the rules of her f amilv, and what 
will be inconsistent with the service for which she agrees 
to pay. It is much better to regulate such afiairs by cool 
contract in the outset than by warm altercations and pro- 
tracted domestic battles. 

' As to the terms of social intercourse, it seems somehow 
to be settled in the minds of many employers that their 
servants owe them and their family more respect than they 
and the family owe to the servants. But do they ? Whiat 
is the relation of servant to employer in a- democratic 
country ? Precisely that of a person who for money per- 
forms any kind of service for you. The carpenter comes 
into your house to put up a set of shelves — the cook comes 



282 THE POSITION AND BIGHTS OF SEMYANTS. 



into your kitchen to cook your dinner. Yon never tMnk 
that the carpenter owes you any more respect than you owe 
to him because he is in your house doing your behests ; he 
is your fellow-citizen, you treat him with respect, you ex- 
pect to be treated with respect by him. You have a claim 
on him that he shall do your work according to your direc- 
tions — no more. 

Now, I apprehend that there is a very common notion as 
to the position and rights of servants which is quite differ- 
ent from this. Is it not a common feeling that a servant 
is one who may be treated with a degree of freedom by 
every member of the family which he or she may not re- 
turn ? Do not people feel at liberty to question servants 
about their private affairs, to comment on their dress and 
appearance, in a manner which they would feel to be an 
impertinence, if reciprocated ? Do they not feel at liberty 
to express dissatisfaction with their performances in rude 
and unceremonious terms, to reprove them in the presence 
of company, wdiile yet they require that the dissatisfaction 
of servants shall be expressed only in terms of respect ? A 
woman would not feel herself at liberty to talk to her mil- 
liner or her dress-maker in language as devoid of considera- 
tion as she will employ toward her cook or chambermaid. ' 
And yet both are rendering her a service which she pays 
for in money, and one is no more made her inferior thereby 
than the other. Both have an equal right to be treated 
with courtesy. The master and mistress of a house have a 
right to require courteous treatment from all whom their 
roof shelters; but they have no more right to exact it 
of servants than of every guest and every child, and they 
themselves owe it as much to servants as to guests. 

In order that servants may be treated with respect and 
courtesy, it is not necessary, as in simpler patriarchal days, 
that they sit at the family-table. Your carpenter or plumb- 
er does not feel hurt that you do not ask him to dine with 
you, nor your milliner and mantua-maker that you do not 
exchange ceremonious calls and invite them to your parties. 
It is well understood that your relations with them are of a 
mere business character. They never take it as an assump- 
tion of superiority on your part that you do not admit them 
to relations of private intimacy. There may be the most 
perfect respect and esteem and even friendship between 
them and you, notwithstanding. So it may be in the case 



EXTREMES TO BE AVOIDED. 283 



of servants. It is easy to make any person understand that 
there are quite other reasons than the assumption of person- 
al superiority for not wishing to admit servants to the family 
privacy. It was not, in fact, to sit in the parlor or at the 
table, in themselves considered, that was the thing aimed at 
by New-England girls ; these were valued only as signs that 
they were deemed worthy of respect and consideration, and, 
where freely conceded, w^ere often in point of fact declined. 
Let servants feel, in their treatment by their employers 
and in the atmosphere of the family, that their position is 
held to be a respectable one ; let them feel, in the mistress 
of the family, the charm of unvarying consideration and 
good manners ; let their work-rooms be made convenient 
and comfortable, and their private apartments bear some 
reasonable comparison in point of agreeableness to those of 
other members of the family, and domestic service will be 
more frequently sought by a superior and self-respecting 
class. There are families in which such a state of things 
prevails; and such families, amid the many causes which 
unite to make the tenure of service uncertain, have gene- 
rally been able to keep good permanent servants. 

There is an extreme into which kindly disposed people 
often run with regard to servants which may be men- 
tioned here. They make pets of them. .They give extrava- 
gant wages and indiscreet indulgences, and, through indo- 
lence and easiness of temper, tolerate neglect of duty. 
Many of the complaints of the ingratitude of servants 
come from those who have spoiled them in this way ; while 
many of the longest and most harmonious domestic unions 
have sprung from a simple, quiet course of Christian justice 
and benevolence, a recognition of servants as fellow-beings 
and fellow-Christians, and a doing to them as we would in 
like circumstances that they should do, to us. 
' The mistresses of American families, whether they like 
it or not, have the duties of missionaries imposed upon them 
by that class from which our supply of domestic servants is 
drawn. They may as well accept the position cheerfully, 
and, as one raw, untrained hand after another passes 
through their family, and is instructed by them in the mys- 
teries of good house-keeping, comfort themselves with the 
reflection that they are doing something to form good wives 
and mothers for the republic. 

The complaints made of Irish girls are numerous and 



284 AMERICAN MISTRESSES TO BE TEACHERS. 



loud ; the failings of green Erin, alas ! are but too open 
and manifest ; yet, in arrest of judgment, let us move this 
consideration: let us imagine our own "daughters between 
the ages of sixteen and twenty-four, untaught and inexperi- 
enced in domestic affairs as they commonly are, shipped to 
a foreign shore to seek service in families. It may be ques- 
tioned whether, as a whole, they would do much better. 
The girls that fill our families and do our house-work are 
often of the age of our own daughters, standing for them- 
selves, without mothers to guide them, in a foreign country, 
not only bravely supporting themselves, but sending home 
in every ship remittances to impoverished friends left be- 
hind. If our daughters did as much for us, should we not 
be proud of their energy and heroism % 

When we go into the houses of our country, we find a 
majority of well-kept, well-ordered, and even elegant estab- 
lishments, where the only hands employed are those of the 
daughters of Erin. True, American women have been 
their instructors, and many a weary hour of care have they 
had in the discharge of this office ; but the result on the 
whole is beautiful and good, and the end of it, doubtless, 
will be peace. 

Instead, then, of complaining that we can not have our 
own peculiar advantages and those of other nations too, or 
imagining how much better off we should be if things were 
different from what they are, it -is much wiser and more 
Christianlike to strive cheerfully to conform to actual cir- 
cumstances ; and, after remedying all that we can control, 
patiently to submit to what is beyond our power. If do- 
mestics are found to be incompetent, unstable, and uncon- 
formed to their station, it is Perfect Wisdom which ap- 
points these trials to teach' us patience, fortitude, and self- 
control ; and if the discipline is met in a proper spirit, it 
will prove a blessing rather than an evil. 

But to judge correctly in regard to some of the evils in- 
volved in the state of domestic service in this country, we 
should endeavor to conceive ourselves placed in the situation 
of those of whom complaint is made, that we mc^y not ex- 
pect from them any more than it would seem right should 
be exacted from us in similar circumstances. 

It is sometimes urged against domestics that they exact 
exorbitant wages. But what is the rule of rectitude on 
this subject? Is it not the universal law of labor and of 



INSTABILITY OF SERVANTS. 285 



trade that an article is to be valued according to its scarcity 
and the demand ? When wheat is scarce, the farmer raises 
his price ; and when a mechanic offers services difficult to 
be obtained, he makes a -corresponding increase of price. 
And why is it not right for domestics to act according to a 
rule allowed to be correct in reference to all other trades and 
professions ? It is a fact, that really good domestic service 
must continue to increase in value just in proportion as this 
country waxes rich and prosperous ; thus making the propor- 
tion of those who wish to hire labor relatively greater, and 
the number of those willing to go to service less. 

Money enables the rich to gain many advantages which 
those of more limited circumstances can not secure. One 
of these is, secm^ing good servants by offering high 
wages ; and this, as the scarcity of this class increases, will 
serve constantly to raise the price of service. It is right 
for domestics to charge the market value, and this value is 
always decided by the scarcity, of the article and the 
amount of demand. Right views of this subject will some- 
times serve to diminish hard feelings toward those who 
would otherwise be wrongfully regarded as unreasonable 
and exacting. 

Another complaint against servants is that of instability 
and discontent, leading to perpetual change. But in refer- 
ence to this, let a mother or daughter conceive of their own 
circumstances as so changed that the daughter must go out 
to service. Supp6se a place is engaged, and it is then found 
that she must sleep in a comfortless garret ; and that, when 
a new domestic comes, perhaps a coarse and dirty foreigner, 
she must share her bed with her. Another place is offered, 
where she can have a comfortable room and an agreeable 
room-mate; in such a case, would not both mother and 
daughter think it right to change ? 

Or suppose, on trial, it was found that the lady of the 
house was fretful or exacting and hard to please, or that her 
children were so ungoverned as to be perpetual vexations ; 
or that the work was so heavy that no time was allowed for 
relaxation and the care of a wardrobe ; and another place 
offers where these evils can be escaped ; would not mother 
and daughter here think it right to change ? And is it not 
right for domestics, as well as their employers, to seek 
places where they can be most comfortable 1 

In some cases, this instability and love of change would 



286 ^ KINDLY INTEREST TO BE SHOWN. 



be remedied, if employers would take more pains to make 
a residence with tliem agreeable, and to attach servants to 
the family by feelings of gratitude and affection. There 
are ladies, even where well-qnalified domestics are most 
rare, who seldom find any trouble in keeping good and 
steady ones. And the reason is, that their servants know 
they can not better their condition by any change within 
reach. It is not merely by giving them comfortable rooms, 
and good food, and presents, and privileges, that the attach- 
ment of domestic servants is secured ; it is by the manifesta- 
tion of a friendly and benevolent interest in their comfort 
and improvement. This is exhibited in bearing patiently 
with their faults ; in kindly teaching them how to improve ; 
in showing them how to make and take proper care of their 
clothes ; in guarding their health ; in teaching them to read 
if necessary, and supplying them with proper books ; and 
in short, by endeavoring, so far as may be, to supply the 
place of parents. It is seldom that such a course would 
fail to secure steady service, and such affection and ■ grati- 
tude that even higher wages would be ineffectual to tempt 
them away. There would probably be some cases of un- 
grateful returns ; but there is no doubt that the course in- 
dicated, if generally pursued, would very much lessen the 
evil in question. 

When servants are forward and bold in manners and dis-. 
respectful in address, they may be considerately taught that 
those who are among the best-bred and genteel have cour- 
teous and respectful manners and language to all they meet : 
while many who have wealth, are regarded as vulgar, be- 
cause they exhibit rude and disrespectful manners. The 
very term gentle man indicates the refinement ancj delicacy 
of address which distinguishes the high-bred from the coarse 
and vulgar. 

In regard to appropriate dress, in most cases it is difficult 
for an employer to interfere, directly^ with comments or ad- 
vice. • The most successful mode is to offer som-;^ service in 
mending or making a wardrobe, and when a confidence in 
the kindness of feeling is thus gained, remarks and sugges- 
tions will generally be properly received, and new views of 
propriety and economy can be imparted. In some cases it 
may be well for an employer who, from appearances, antici- 
pates difficulty of this kind, in making the preliminary con- 
tract or agreement to state that she wishes to have the 



FOREWARNING BETTER THAN FAULT-FINDING. 287 



room, person, and dress of her servants kept neat and in 
order, and that she expects to remind them of their duty, 
in this particular, if it is neglected. Domestic servants are 
very apt to neglect the care of their own chambers and 
clothing; and such habits have a most pernicious influence 
on their well-being and on that of their children in future 
domestic life. An employer, then, is bound to exercise a 
parental care over them, in these respects. 

There is one great mistake, not unfrequently made, in the 
management both of domestics and of children, and that is, 
in supposing that the way to cm'e defects is by finding fault 
as each failing occurs. But instead of this being true, in 
many cases the directly opposite course is the best ; while, in 
all instances, much good judgment is required in order to de- 
cide when to notice faults and when to let them pass unno- 
ticed. There are some minds very sensitive, easily discour- 
aged, and infirm of purpose. Such persons, when they have 
formed habits of negligence, haste, and awkwardness, often 
need expressions of sympathy and encouragement rather 
than reproof. ' They have usually been found fault with so 
much that they have become either hardened or despond- 
ing • and it is often the case, that a few words of commend- 
ation will awaken fresh efibrts and renewed hope. In al- 
most every case, words of kindness, confidence, and encour- 
agement should be mingled with the needful admonitions 
or reproof.' 

It is a good rule, in reference to this point, to forewarn 
instead of finding fault. Thus, when a thing has been done 
wrong, let it pass unnoticed, till it is to be done again ; and 
then, a simple request to have it done in the right way will 
secure quite as much, and probably more, willing effort, 
than a reproof administered for neglect. Some persons 
seem to take it for granted that young and inexperienced 
minds are bound to have all the forethought and discretion 
of mature persons ; and freely express wonder and disgust 
when mishaps occur for want of these traits. But it would 
be far better to save from mistake or forgetf ulness by pre- 
vious caution and care on the part of those who have 
gained experience and forethought ; and thus many occa- 
sions of complaint and ill-humor will be avpided. 

Those who fill the places of heads of families are not 
very apt to think how painful it is to be chided for neglect 
of duty or for faults of character. If they would some- 



288 CEBISTIAN DUTY OF PATIENCE. 



times imagine themselves in the place of those whom they 
control, with some person daily administering reproof 
to them, in the same tone and style as they employ to 
those who are nnder them, it might serve as a useful check 
to their chidings. It is often the case, that persons who are 
most strict and exacting and least able to make allowances 
and receive palliations, are themselves peculiarly sensitive 
to any thing which implies that they are in fault. By such, 
the spirit implied in the Divine petition, " Forgive ns our 
trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us," 
needs especially to be cherished. 

One other consideration is very important. There is no 
duty more binding on Christians than that of patience and 
meekness under provocations and disappointment. Now, 
the tendency of every sensitive mind, when thwarted in its 
wishes, is to complain and find fault, and that often in tones 
of fretfulness or anger. But there are few servants who 
have not heard enough of the Bible to know that angry or 
fretful fault-finding from the mistress of a family, when 
her work is not done to suit her, is not in agreement with 
the precepts of Christ. They notice and feel the inconsist- 
ency ; and every woman, when she gives way to feelings of 
anger and impatience at the faults of those around her, 
lowers herself in their respect, while her own conscience, 
unless very much blinded, can not but suffer a wound. 

In speaking of the office of the American mistress as 
being a missionary one, we are far from recommending any 
controversial interference with the religious faith of our 
servants. It is far better to incite them to be good Chris- 
tians in their own way than to run the risk of shaking their 
faith in all religion by pointing out to them what seem to 
us the errors of that in which they have been educated. 
The general purity of life and propriety, of demeanor of so 
many thousands of undefended young girls cast yearly upon 
our shores, with no home but their church, rnd no shield 
but their religion, are a sufficient proof that this religion 
exerts an influence over them not to be lightly trifled with. 
But there is a real unity even in opposite Christian forms ; 
and the Eoman Catholic servant and the Protestant mis- 
tress, if alike possessed by the spirit of Christ, and striving 
to conform to fhe Golden Rule, can not help being one in 
heart, though one go to mass and the other to meeting. 

Finally, the bitter baptism through which we have passed, 



LABGE BETINUES NOT AMERICAN. 289 



the life-blood dearer tlian our own whicli has drenched dis- 
tant fields, shonld remind us of the preciousness of distinc- 
tive American ideas. They who would seek in their foolish 
pride to establish the pomp of liveried servants in America 
are doing that which is simply absurd. A servant can never 
in our country be the mere appendage to another man, to be 
marked like a sheep with the color of his owner ; he must 
be a fellow-citizen, with an established position of his own, 
free to make contracts, free to come and go, and having in 
his sphere titles to consideration and respect just as definite 
as those of any trade or profession whatever. 

Moreover, we can not in this country maintain to any 
great extent large retinues of servants. Even wdth ample 
fortunes, they are forbidden by the general character of so- 
ciety here, which makes them cumbrous and difiicult to 
manage. Every mistress of a family knows that her cares 
increase with every additional servant. Tw^o keep the 
peace with each other and their employer ; three begin a 
possible discord, which possibility increases with four, and 
becomes certain with five or six. Trained housekeepers, 
such as regulate the complicated establishments of the old 
world, form a class that are not, and from the nature 
of the case never will be, found in any great numbers in this 
country. All such women, as a general thing, are keeping, 
and prefer to keep, houses of their own. 

A moderate style of housekeeping, small, compact, and 
simple domestic establishments, must necessarily be the gen- 
eral order of life in America. So many openings of profit 
are to be found in this country, that domestic service neces- 
sarily wants the permanence which forms so, agreeable a 
feature of it in the old world. 

This being the case, it should be an object in America to 
exclude from the labors of the family all that can, with 
greater advantage, be executed out of it by combined 
labor. 

Formerly, in ]^ew-England, soap and candles were to be 
made in each separate family ; now, comparatively few take 
this toil upon them. We buy soap of tlie soap-maker, and 
candles of the candle-factor. This principle might be ex- 
tended much further. In France, no family makes its own 
bread, and better bread can not be eaten than can be 
bought at the appropriate shops. No family does its own 
washing ; the family's linen is all sent to women who, mak- 



290 SUMMABY. 



ing this their sole profession, get it up with a care and nice- 
ty which can seldom be equaled in any family. 

How wonld it simplify the burdens of the American 
housekeeper to have washing and ironing day expunged from 
her calendar! How much more neatly and compactly 
could the whole domestic system be arranged ! If all the 
money that each separate family spends on the outfit and 
accommodations for washing and ironing, on fuel, soap, 
starch, and the other requirements, were united in a fund to 
create a laundry for every dozen families, one or two good 
women could do in first rate style what now is very indif- 
ferently done by the disturbance and disarrangement of all 
•other domestic processes in these families. Whoever Sets 
neighborhood-laundries on foot will do much to solve the 
American housekeeper's hardest problem. 

Again, American women must not try with three servants 
to carry on life in the style which in the old world requires 
sixteen ; they must thoroughly understand, and be prepared 
to teacJi^ every branch of housekeeping ; they must study 
to make domestic service desirable, by treating their servants 
in a way to lead them to respect themselves and to feel 
themselves respected ; and there will gradually be evolved 
from the present confusion a solution of the domestic pro- 
blem which shall be adapted to the life of a new and grow- 
ing world. 



XXYI. 

CAEE OF THE SICK. 

It is interesting to notice in the histories of our Lord 
the prominent place given to the care of the sick. When 
he first sent out the apostles, it was to heal the sick as 
well as to preach. Again, when he sent out the seventy, 
their first command was to '' heal the sick," and next to 
say, " the kingdom of God has come nigh unto you." The 
body was to be healed first, in order to attend to the king- 
dom of God, even when it was " brought nigh." 

Jesus Christ spent more time and labor in the cure of 
men's bodies than in preaching, even if we subtract those 
labors with his earthly father by which family homes 
were provided. When he ascended to the heavens, his last 
recorded words to his followers, as given by Mark, were, 
that his disciples should " lay hands on the sick," that they 
might recover. Still more directly is the duty of care for 
the sick exhibited in the solemn allegorical description of 
the last day. It was those who visited the sick that were 
the blessed ; it was those who did not visit the sick who 
were told to "depart." Thus are we abundantly taught 
that one of the most sacred duties of the Christian family 
is the training of its inmates to care and kind attention to 
the sick. 

Every woman who has the care of young children, or of 
a large family, is frequently called upon to advise what 
shall be done for some one who is indisposed ; and often, 
in circumstances where she must trust solely to her own 
judgment. In such cases, some err by neglecting to do 
any thing at all, till the patient is quite sick ; but a still 
greater number err from excessive and injurious dosing. 

The two great causes of the ordinary slight attacks of 
illness in a family, are, sudden chills, which close the 
pores of the skiu, and thus affect the throat, lungs, or bow- 
els; and the excessive or improper use of food. In most 



292 SIMPLE REMEDIES. 



cases of illness from the first cause, bathing the feet, and 
some aperient drink to induce perspiration, are suitable 
remedies. 

In case of illness from improper food, or excess in eat- 
ing, fasting for one or two meals, to give the system time 
and chance to relieve itself, is the safest remedy. Some- 
times, a gentle cathartic of castor-oil may be needful ;^ but 
it is best first to try fasting. A safe relief from injurious 
articles in the stomach is an emetic of warm water ; but 
to be efiective, several tumblerfuls must be given in quick 
succession, and till the stomach can receive no more. 

The following extract from a discourse of Dr. Burne, be- 
fore the London Medical Society, contains important infor- 
mation : " In civilized life, the causes which are most gene- 
rally and continually operating in the production of dis- 
eases are, afiections of the mind, improper diet, and re- 
tention of the intestinal excretions. The undue retention 
of excrementitious matter allows of the absorption of its 
more liquid parts, which is a cause of great impurity to 
the blood, and the excretions, thus rendered hard and 
knotty, act more or less as extraneous substances, and, by 
their irritation, produce a determination of blood to the 
intestines and to the neighboring viscera, which ultimately 
ends in inflammation. It also has a great eifect on the 
whole system ; causes a determination of blood to the head, 
which oppresses the brain and dejects the mind; deranges 
the functions of the stomach ; causes flatulency ; and pro- 
duces a general state of discomfort." 

Dr. Combe remarks on this subject : " In the natural 
and healthy state, under a proper system of diet, and with 
sufficient exercise, the bowels are relieved regularly, once 
every day." Habit " is powerful in modifying the result, 
and in sustaining healthy action when once fairly establish- 
ed. Hence the obvious advantage of observing as much 
regularity in relieving the system, as in taking our meals." 
It is often the case that soliciting nature at a regular pe- 
riod, once a day, will remedy constipation without medi- 
cine, and induce a regular and healthy state of the bowels. 
" When, however, as most frequently happens, the consti- 
pation arises from the absence of all assistance from the 
abdominal and respiratory muscles, the first step to be 
taken is, again to solicit their aid ; first, by removing all 
impediments to free respiration, such as stays, waistbands, 



HABIT— PUBGATIVES. . 293 



and belts ; secondly, by resorting to such active exercise 
as shall call the muscles into full and regular action ; * and 
lastly, by proportioning the quantity of food to the wants 
of the system, and the condition of the digestive organs. 

" If we employ these means, systematically and perseve- 
ringly, we shall rarely fail in at last restoring the healthy 
action of the bowels, with little aid from medicine. But 
if we neglect these modes, we may go on for years, adding 
■pill to pill, and dose to dose, without ever attaining the 
end at which we aim." 

" There is no point in which a woman needs more know- 
ledge and discretion than in administering remedies for 
what seem slight attacks, .which are not supposed to re- 
quire the attention of a physician. It is little realized that 
purgative drugs are unnatural modes of stimulating the 
internal organs, tending to exhaust them of their secre- 
tions, and to debilitate and disturb the animal economy. 
For this reason, they should be used as little as possible ; 
and fasting, and perspiration, and the other methods 
pointed out, should always be first resorted to." 

When medicine must be given, it should be borne in mind 
that there are various classes of purgatives, which pro- 
duce very diverse effects. Some, like salts, operate to thin 
the blood, and reduce the system ; others are stimulating ; 
and others have a peculiar operation on certain organs. 
Of course, great discrimination and knowledge are needed, 
in order to select the kind which is suitable to the particu- 
lar disease, or to the particular constitution of the invalid. 
This shows the folly of using the many kinds of pills, and 
other quack medicines, where no knowledge can be had of 
their composition. Pills which are good for one kind of 



* The most eflfective mode of exercising tlie abdominal and respiratory 
muscles, in order to remedy constipation, is by a continuous alternate con- 
traction of the muscles of the abdomen and diaphragm. By contracting 
the muscles of the abdomen, the intestines are pressed inward and up- 
ward, and then the muscles of the diaphragm above contract and press 
them downward and outward. Thus the blood is drawn to the torpid 
parts to stimulate to the healthful action, while the agitation moves their 
contents downward. An invalid can thus exercise the abdominal muscles 
in bed. The proper time is just after a meal. This exercise, continued ten 
minutes a day, including short intervals of rest, and persevered in for a 
week or two, will cure most ordinary cases of constipation, provided 
proper food is taken. Coarse bread and fruit are needed for this purpose 
in most cases. 



294 COLDS— QENEBAL SUGGESTIONS. 



disease, miglit operate as poison in another state of the 
system. 

It is yery common in cases of colds, which affect the 
lungs or throat, to continue to try one dose after another 
for relief. It will be well to bear in mind at snch times, 
that all which goes into the stomach mnst be first absorbed 
into the blood before it can reach the diseased part ; and that 
there is some danger of injuring the stomach, or other 
parts of the system, by such a variety of doses, many of 
which, it is probable, will be directly contradictory in 
their nature, and thus neutralize any supposed benefit 
they might separately impart. 

When a cold affects the head and eyes, and also impedes 
breathing through the nose, great relief is gained by a 
wet napkin spread over the upper part of the face, cover- 
ing the nose except an opening for breath. This is to be 
covered by folds of flannel fastened over the napkin with 
a handkerchief. So also a wet towel over the throat and 
whole chest, covered with folds of flannel, often relieves 
oppressed lungs. 

Ordinarily, a cold can be arrested on its first symptoms 
by coverings in bed and a bottle of hot water, securing 
free perspiration. Often, at its first appearance, it can be 
stopped by a spoonful or two of whisky, or any alcoholic 
liquor, in hot water, taken on going to bed. Warm cover- 
ering to induce perspiration will assist the process. These 
simple remedies are safest. Perspiration should always be 
followed by a towel-bath. 

It is very unwise to tempt the appetite of a person who 
is indisposed. The cessation of appetite is the warning of 
nature that the system is in such a state that food can not 
be digested. When food is to be given to one who has no 
desire for it, beef-tea is the best in most cases. 

The following suggestions may be found useful in regard 
to nursing the sick. As nothing contributes more to tJie 
restoration of health than pure air, it should be a j)rimary 
object to keep a sick-room well ventilated. At least twice 
in the twenty-four hours, the patient should be well cov- 
ered, and fresh air freely admitted from out of doors. 
After this, if need be, the room should be restored to a. 
]3roper temperature, by the aid of an open fire. Bedding 
and clothing should also be well aired, and frequently 
changed ; as the exhalations from the body» in sickness, 



NEATNESS IN TEE SICK-BOOM. 295 



are peculiarly deleterious. Frequent ablutions of the 
whole body, if possible, are very nseful ; and for these, warm 
water may be employed, when cold water is disagreeable. 

A sick-room should always be kept very neat and in 
perfect order; and all haste, noise, and bnstle should be 
avoided. In order to secure neatness, order, and quiet, in 
case of long illness,* the following arrangement should be 
made. Keep a large box for fuel, which will need to be 
filled only twice in twenty-four hours. Pro\ade also and 
keep in the room or an adjacent closet, a small tea-kettle, 
a saucepan, a pail of water for drinks and ablutions, a 
pitcher, a covered porrioiger, two pint bowds, tw^o tumblers, 
two cups and saucers, two wine-glasses, two large and two 
small spoons ; also a dish in which to wash these articles ; 
a good supply of towels and a broom. Keep a slop-bucket 
near by to receive the wash of the room. Procuring all 
these articles at once, will save much noise and confusion. 

Whenever medicine or food is given, spread a clean tow- 
el over the person or bed-clothing, and get a clean hand- 
kerchief, as nothing is more annoying to a weak stomach 
than the stickiness and soiling produced by medicine and 
food. 

Keep the fire-place neat, and always wash all arti- 
cles and put them in order as soon as they are out of use. 
A sick person has nothing to do but look about the 
room ; and when every thing is neat and in order, a feeling 
of comfort is induced, while disorder, filth, and neglect are 
constant objects of annoyance which, if not complained 
of, are yet felt. 

One very important particular in the case of those who 
are delicate in constitution, as well as in the case of the 
sick, is the preservation of' warmth, especially in the hands 
and the feet. The equal circulation of the blood is an im 
portant element for good health, and this is impossible 
when the extremities are habitually or frequently cold. It 
is owing to this fact that the coldness caused by wetting 
the feet is so injurious. In cases where disease or a weak 
constitution causes a feeble or imperfect circulation, great 
pains should be taken to di'ess the feet and hands warmly, 
especially around the wrists and ankles, where the blood- 
vessels are nearest to the surface and thus most exposed to 
cold. Warm' elastic wristlets and anklets would save 
many a feeble person from increasing decay or disease. 



296 BLISTERS-FOOD— PHYSICIANS. 



When the circnlation is feeble from debility or disease, 
the union of carbon and oxygen in the capillaries is slow- 
er than in health, and therefore care should be taken to 
preserve the heat thus generated by warm clothing and 
protection from cold draughts. In nervous debility, it is 
peculiarly important to preserve the animal heat, for its 
excessive loss especially aifects weak Aerves. Many an in- 
valid is carelessly and habitually suffering cold feet, who 
would recover health by proper care to preserve animal 
heat, especially in the extremities. 

The following, are useful directions for dressing a blister. 
Spread thinly, on a linen cloth, an ointment composed of 
one third of beeswax to two thirds of tallow ; lay this 
upon a linen cloth folded many times. With a sharp 
pair of scissors make an aperture in the lower part of the 
blister-bag, with a little hole above to give it vent. 
Break the raised skin as little as possible. Lay on the 
cloth spread as directed. The blister at first should be 
dressed as often as three times in a day, and the dressing 
renewed each time. Hot fomentations in most cases will 
be as good as a blister, less painful, and safer. 

Always prepare food for the sick in the neatest and 
most careful manner. It is in sickness that the senses of 
smell and taste are most susceptible of annoyance ; and 
often, little mistakes or negligences in preparing food will 
take away all appetite. 

Food for the sick should be cooked on coals, that no 
smoke may have access to it ; and great care must be taken 
to prevent, by stirring, any adherence to the bottom of the 
cooking vessel, as this always gives a disagreeable taste. 

Keeping clean handkerchiefs and towels at hand, cool- 
ing the pillows, sponging the hands with water, (with care 
to dry them thoroughly,) swabbing the mouth with a 
clean linen rag on the end of a stick, are modes of increas- 
ing the comfort of the sick. Always throw a shawl over 
a sick person when raised up. 

Be careful to understand a physician's directions, and to 
ohey^ them implicitly. If it be supposed that any other 
person knows better about the case than the physician, 
dismiss the physician, and employ that person in his stead. 

It is always best to consult the physician as to where 
medicines shall be purchased, and "to shuw the articles to 
hmi before using them, as great impositions are practiced 



GENTLE NURSING. 297 



in selling old, useless, and adulterated drugs. Always put 
labels on vials of medicine, and keep them out of the 
reach of children. 

Be careful to label all powders, and particularly all 
white powders^ as many poisonous medicines in this form 
are easily mistaken for others which are harmless. 

In nursing the sick, always speak gently and cheering- 
ly ; and, while you express sympathy for their pain and 
trials, stimulate them to bear all with fortitude, and with 
resignation to the Heavenly Father who " doth not will- 
ingly afflict," and " who causeth all things to wark togeth- 
er for good to them that love him." Offer to read the 
Bible or other devotional books, whenever it is suitable, 
and will not be deemed obtrusive. 

Miss Ann Preston, one of the most refined as well as 
talented and learned female physicians, in a published ar- 
ticle, gives valuable instruction as to the training of nurses. 
She claims that every woman should be trained for this 
office, and that some who have special traits that fit them 
for it should make it their daily professional business. She 
remarks that the indispensable qualities in a good . nurse 
are common sense, conscientiousness, and sympathetic 
benevolence : and thus continues : 

" God himself made and commissioned one set of 
nurses ; and in doing this and adapting them to utter 
helplessness and weakness, what did he do ? He made 
them to love the dependence and to see something to ad- 
mire in the very perversities of their charge. He made 
them to humor the caprices and regard both reasonable 
and unreasonable complainings. He made them to bend 
tenderly over the disturbed and irritated, and fold them to 
quiet assurance in arms made soft with loA-e; in a word, he 
made raothers ! And, other things being equal, whoever 
has most maternal tenderness and warm sympathy with the 
sufferer is the best nurse." And it is those most nearly 
endowed by nature with these traits who should be select- 
ed to be trained for the sacred office of nurse to the sick, 
while, in all the moral training of womanhood, this ideal 
should be the aim. 

Again, Miss Preston wisely suggests that " persons may 
be conscientious and benevolent and possess good judg- 
ment in many respects, and yet be miserable nurses of the 
sick for want of training and right knowledge. 



298 SYMPATHY WITH THE SENSITIVE. 



" Knowledge^ tlie assnrance that one knows what to do, 
always gives presence of mind — and presence of mind is 
important not only in a sick-room bnt in every home. 
Who has not known consternation in a family when some 
one has fainted, or been bnrned, or cnt, while none were 
present who knew how to stop the flowing blood, or revive 
the fainting, or apply the saving application to the burn? 
And yet knowledge and efficiency in snch cases wonld save 
many a life, and be a most fitting and desirable accom- 
plishment in every woman." 

" We are slow to learn the mighty influence of common 
agencies, and the greatness of little things, in their bear- 
ing upon life and health. The woman who believes it 
takes no strength to bear a little noise or some disagreea- 
ble announcements, and loses patience with tlie weak,' ner- 
vous invalid Avho is agonized with creaking doors or shoes, 
or loud, shrill voices, or rustling papers, or sharp, fidgety, 
motions, or the whispering so common in sick-rooms and 
often so acutely distressing to the sufierer, will soon cor- 
rect such misapprehensions by herself experiencing a ner- 
vous fever." 

Here the writer would put in a plea for the increasing 
multitudes of nervous suflerers not confined to a sick-, 
room, and yet exposed to all the varied sources of pain in- 
cident to an exhausted nervous system, which often cause 
more intolerable and also more wearing pain than other 
kinds of sufi'ering. 

"An exceeding acuteness of the senses is the result of 
many forms of nervous disease. A heavy breath, an 
unwashed hand, a noise that would not have been noticed 
in health, a crooked table-cover or bed-spread may disturb 
or oppress ; and more than one invalid has spokepi in my 
hearing of the sickening efl'ect produced by the nurse 
tasting her food, or blowing: in her drinks to make them 
cool. . One woman, and a sensible woman too, told me her 
nurse had turned a large cushion upon her bureau with the 
back part in front. She determined not to be disturbed 
nor to speak of such a trifle, but after struggling three hours 
in vain to banish the annoyance, she was forced to ask to 
have the cushion placed right." 

In this place should be mentioned the suffering caused 
to persons of reduced nervous power not only by the smoke 
of tobacco, but by the fetid effluvium of it from the breath 



BABITY OF GOOD NURSES. 299 



and ciotMng of persons wlio smoke. Many such are sick- 
ened in society and in car-traveling, and to a degree little 
imagined by those who gain a dangerous pleasure at the 
frequent expense of the feeble and suffering. 

Miss Preston again remarks, " It is often exceedingly 
important to the very weak, who can take but very little 
nutriment, to have that little whenever they want it. I 
have known invalids sustain great injury and suffering ; 
when exhausted for want of food, they have had to wait 
and wait, feeling as if every minute was an hour, while 
some well-fed nurse delayed its coming. Said a lady, ' It 
makes me hungry now to think of the meals she brought 
me upon that little waiter when I was sick, such brown 
thin toast, such good broiled beef, such fragrant tea, and 
every thing looking so exquisitely nice ! If at any time I 
did not think of any thing I wanted, nor ask for food, she 
did not annoy me with questions, but brought some- little 
delicacy at the proper time, and when it came, I could 
take it.' 

" If there is one purpose of a personal kind for which it 
is especially desirable to lay up means, it is for being well 
nursed in sickness; yet in the present .state of society, this 
is absolutely impossible, even to the wealthy, because of the 
scarcity of competent nurses. Families worn down with 
the long and extreme illness of a member require relief 
from one whose feelings will be less taxed, and who can 
better endure the labor. 

" But alas ! how often is it impossible, for love or money, 
to obtain one capable of taking the burden from the ex- 
hausted sister or mother or daughter, and how often in 
consequence they have died prematurely or struggled 
through weary years with a broken constitution: Appeal 
to those who have made the trial, and you will find that 
very seldom have they been able to have those who by na- 
ture or by training were competent for their duties. -Ig- 
norant, unscrupulous, inattentive — how often they disturb 
and injure the patient ! A physician told me that one of his 
patients had died because the nurse, contrary to orders, had 
at a critical period washed her with cold water. I have 
known one who, by stealth, quieted a fretful child with 
laudanum, and of others who exhausted the sick by inces- 
sant talking. One lady sajd that when, to escape this dis- 
tressing garrulity, she closed her eyes, the nurse exclaimed 



300 SUSCEPTIBILITY OF THE SICK. 



aloud, ' Why, she is going to sleep while I am talking to 
her.' 

" A few only of the sensihle, qniet, and loving women, 
whose presence everywhere is a blessing, have qualified 
themselves and followed nursing as a business. Heaven 
bless that few ! What a sense of relief have I seen pervade 
a family when such a one has been procured ; and what a 
treasure seemed found ! 

" There is very commonly an extreme susceptibility in the 
sick to the moral atmosphere about them. They feel the 
healthful influence of the presence of a true-hearted at- 
tendant and repose in it, though they may not be able to 
define the cause ; while dissimulation, falsehood, reckless- 
ness, coarseness, jar terribly and injuriously on their height- 
ened sensibilities. ' Are the Sisters of Charity really bet- 
ter nurses than most other women?' I asked an intelligent 
lady who had seen much of our military hospitals. ' Yes, 
they are,' was her reply. ' Why should it be so ?' 'I think 
it is because with them it is a work of self-abnegation, and 
of duty to God, and they are so quiet and self -forgetful in 
its exercise that they do it better, while many other women 
show such self- consciousness and are so fussy !' " 

Is there any reason why every Protestant woman should 
not be trained for this sell- denying oflice as <2 duty oived to 
God? 

We can not better close this chapter than by one more 
quotation from the same intelligent and attractive writer : 
" The good nurse is an artist. O the pillowy, ' soothing 
softness of her touch, the neatness of her simple, unrustling 
dress, the music of her assured yet gentle voice and tread, 
the sense of security and rest inspired by her kind and hope- 
ful face, the promptness and attention to every want, the 
repose that like an atmosphere encircles her, the evidence 
of heavenly goodness, and love that she difiuses !" Is not 
such an art as this worth much to attain ? 

In training children to the Christian life, one very im- 
portant opportunity occurs whenever sickness appears in 
the family or neighborhood. The repression of disturbing 
noises, the speaking in tones of gentleness and sympathy, 
the small offices of service or nursing in which children 
can aid, should be inculcated as ministering to the Lord 
and Elder Brother of man, who has said, " Inasmuch as ye 
have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, 
ye have done it to me." 



VISITATION OF THE SUFFEEING. 301 



One of the blessed opportunities for snch ministries is 
given to children in the cultivation of flowers. The en- 
trance into a sick-room of a smiling, healthful child, bring- 
ing an offering of flowers raised by its owoi labor, is like an 
angel of comfort and love, " and alike it blesseth him who 
gives and him who takes." 

A time is coming when the visitation of the sick, as a 
part of the Christian life, will hold a higher consideration 
than is now generally accorded, especially in the cases of 
uninteresting sufferers who have nothing to attract kind at- 
tentions, except that they are suffering children of our 
Father in heaven, and " one of the least" of the brethren 
of Jesus Christ. 



XXYII. 

ACCroENTS AND AJNTEDOTES. 

Children should be tauglit the following modes of sa- 
ving life, health and limbs in cases of sudden emergency, be- 
fore a medical adviser can be summoned. 

In case of a common cut, bind the lips of the wound 
together with a rag, and put on nothing else. If it is large, 
lay narrow strips of sticking-plaster obliquely across the 
wound. In some cases it is needful to draw a needle and 
thread through the lips of the wound, and tie the two sides 
together. 

If an artery be cut, it must be tied as quickly as possible, 
or the person will soon bleed to death. The blood from an 
artery is a brighter red than that from the veins, and spirts 
out in jets at each beat of the heart. Take hold of the end 
of the artery and tie it or hold it tight till a surgeon comes. 
In this case, and in all cases of bad wounds that bleed 
much, tie a tight bandage near and above the wound, insert- 
ing a stick into the bandage and twisting as tight as can 
be borne, to stop the immediate effusion of blood. 

Bathe bad bruises in hot water. Arnica water hastens a 
cure, but is injurious and weakening to the parts when used 
too long and too freely. 

A sprain is relieved from the first pains by hot fomenta- 
tions, or the application of very hot bandages, but entire 
rest is the chief permanent remedy. The more the limb 
is used, especially at first, the longer the time required for 
the small broken fibres to knit together. The sprained 
leg should be kept in a horizontal position. When a leg is 
broken, tie it to the other leg, to keep it still till a surgeon 
comes. Tie a broken arm to a piece of thin wood, to keep 
it still till set. 

In the case of bad burns that take off the skin, creosote 
water is the best remedy. If this is not at hand, wood-soot 
(not coal) pounded, sifted, and mixed with lard is nearly as 



BURNS— DEOymmO— POISONS. 303 



good, as such soot contains creosote. Wlien a dressing is 
put on, do not remove it till a skin is formed under it. If 
nothing else is at hand for a bad burn, sprinkle flour over 
the place where the skin is ofl^ and then let it remain, pro- 
tected by a bandage. The chief aim is to keep the part 
without skin from the air. 

In case of drowning, the aim should be to clear the 
throat, mouth and nostrils, and then produce the natural 
action of the lungs in breathing as soon as possible, at the 
same time removing wet clothes and applying warmth and 
friction to the skin, especially the hands and feet, to start 
the circulation. The best mode of cleansing the throat and 
mouth of choking water is to lay the person on the face, and 
raise the head a little, clearing the mouth and nostrils with 
the finger, and then apply hartshorn or camphor to the 
nose. This is safer and surer than a common mode of lift- 
ing the body by the feet, or rolling on a barrel to empty 
out the water. 

To start the action of the lungs, first lay the person on 
the face and press the back along the spine to expel all air 
from the lungs. Then tm^n the body nearly, but not quite 
over on to the back, thus opening the chest so that the air 
will rush in if the mouth is kept open. Then turn the body 
to the face again and expel the air, and then again nearly 
over on to the back; and so continue for a Jong time. 
Friction, dry and warm clothing, and warm applications 
should be used in connection with this process.- This is a 
much better mode than using bellows, which some- 
times will close the opening to the windpipe. The above 
is the mode recommended by Dr. Marshall Hall, and is ap- 
proved by the best medical authorities. 

Certain articles are often kept in the house for cooking 
or medical purposes, and sometimes by mistake are taken 
in quantities that are poisonous. 

Soda^ saleratiis, potash^ or any other alkali can be ren- 
dered harmless in the stomach by vinegar, tomato-juice, or 
any other acid. If sulphuric or oxalic acid are taken, 
pounded chalk in water is the best antidote. If those 
are not at hand, strong soapsuds have been found effect- 
ive. Large quantities of tepid water should be drank after 
these antidotes are taken, so as to produce vomiting. 

Lime or haryta and its compounds demand a solution 
of Glauber salts or of sulphuric acid. 



304 POISONS AND ANTIDOTES. 



Iodine or Iodide of Potassium demands large draughts of 
.wlieat flour or starcli in water, and then vinegar and water. 
The stomach should then be emptied by vomiting with as 
much tepid water as the stomach can hold. 

PrussiG acid^ a violent poison, is sometimes taken by 
children in eating the pits of stone fruits or bitter almonds 
which contain it. The antidote is to empty the stomach 
by an emetic, and give water of ammonia or chloric water. 
Affusions of cold water all over the body, followed by 
warm hand friction, is often a remedy alone, but the abovci 
should be added if at command. Antimony and its com- 
pounds demand drinks of oak bark, or gall nuts, or very 
strong green tea. 

Arsenic demands oil or melted fat, with magnesia 6r 
lime water in large quantities, till vomiting occurs. 

Corrosive /SvMi7nate, {often used to kill vermin,) and any 
other form of mercury, requires milk or whites of eggs 
in large quantities. The whites of twelve eggs in two 
quarts of water, given in the largest possible draughts 
every three minutes till free vomiting occurs, is a good 
remedy. Flour and water will answer, though not so sure- 
ly as the above. "Warm water will help, if nothing else is 
in reach. The same remedy answers when any form of 
copper, or tin, or zinc poison is taken, and also for creosote. 

lead and its compounds require a dilution of Epsom 
or Glauber salts, or some strong, acid drink, as lemon or 
tomatoes. , 

Nitrate of Silver demands salt water drank till vomiting 
occurs. 

Phosphorus (sometimes taken by children from matches) 
needs magnesia and copious drinks of gum Arabic, or gum 
water of any sort. 

Alcohol, in dangerous quantities, demands vomiting 
with warm water. 

When one is violently sick from excessive use of tohac- 
co, vomiting is a relief, if it arise spontaneously. After 
that, or in case it does not occur, the juice of a lemon and 
perfect rest, in a horizontal position on the back, will re- 
lieve the nausea and faintness, generally soothing the fool- 
ish and over- wrought patient into a sleep. 

Opium demands a quick emetic. The best is a heaping 
table-spoonful of powdered mustard, in a tumblerful of 
warm water ; or powdered alum in half-ounce doses and 



BLEEDING— LIGHTNING— FIRE. 305 



strong coffee alternately in warm water. Give acid drinks 
after vomiting. If vomiting is not elicited thus, a stom- 
ach pump is demanded. Dash cold water on the head, ap- 
ply friction, and use all means to keep the person awake 
and in inotion. 

Btryclinia demands also quick emetics. 

The stomach should be emptied always after taking any 
of these antidotes, by a warm water emetic. 

In case of bleeding at the lungs, or stomach, or throat, 
give a tea-spoonful of dry salt, and repeat it often. For 
bleeding at the nose, put ice, or pour cold water on the 
back of the neck, keeping the head elevated. 

If a person be struck with lightning, throw pailfuls of 
cold water on the head and body, and apply mustard poul- 
tices on the stomach, with friction of the whole body and 
inflation of the lungs, as in the case of drowning. The 
same mode is to be used when persons are stupefied by 
fames of coal, or bad air. 

In thunderstorms, shut the doors and windows. • The 
safest part of a room is its centre ; and where there is a 
feather-bed in the apartment, that will be found the most 
secure resting-place. 

,A lightning-rod if it be well pointed, and run deep into 
•the earth, is a certain protection to a circle around it, 
whose diameter equals the height of the rod above the 
highest chimney. But it protects no farther than this ex- 
tent. 

In case of fire, wrap about you a blanket, a shawl, a 
piece of carpet, or any other woolen cloth, to serve as pro- 
tection. Never read in bed, lest you fall asleep, and the 
bed be set on fire. If your clothes get on fire, never run, 
but lie down, and roll about till you can reach a bed or 
carpet to wrap yourself in, and thus put out the fire. Keep 
young children in woolen dresses, to save them fr®m the 
risk of fii'e. 



xxYin. 

SEWING, CUTTLNG, AND FirTma. 

The customs of the American people are more con- 
formed to those principles of the Christian family state, 
which demand protecting care for the weaker members, 
than those of any other nation, l^owhere is this fact more 
apparent than in the division of labor to the boys and girls 
of one family. The out-door work, all that is most dis- 
agreeable, and the heaviest labor, is taken by the boys, 
while the in-door family- work is reserved for the girls. 
Of this in-door labor a part is sedentary, such as sewing, 
and a part is light labor, such as dish-washing, cooking, 
sweeping, dusting, and general care of the house. The 
laundry gives the hardest woman's work ; but this is not 
daily, nor so severe as the out-door employments of men, 
while it can be so divided among several women, or be so 
regulated in various ways as never to involve excessive labor. 
Young women wash and iron, as a daily business, six and 
eight hours a day, and yet continue healthful and cheerful. 
Such is the distinctive construction of woman's form, that 
labor with the muscles of the arms and trunk, such as is 
demanded in Washing and ironing, is peculiarly favorable to 
the perfect development and support of the most delicate 
and most important portion of her body. 

But while the general arrangements of family labor have 
been conformed to the true Christian principle, there have 
been certain extremes in our customs which it is important 
to remedy. This is often exhibited in houses when the 
members of a family assemble in an evening, and the girls 
all have some useful employpient of the hands, while the 
boys look on and do nothing. 

Again, at other times, we see broken locks, windows 
unglazed, and furniture needing repair, all making neces- 
sary a kind of work women could easily perform, and yet 
left neglected because the men do not find time or are un- 



INSTEUCTION IN THE AET OF SEWING. 307 



skilled for the performance. In a country like ours, tlie 
emergencies of the family state often demand the ex- 
change of the ordinary labor of men and women. Fre- 
qnently, in newer settlements, no servants can be fonnd, 
while the wife and mother is confined by sickness. In 
snch emergencies, skill in performing woman's work is a 
great blessing to a man and his family. So the soldiers, 
sailors, engineers, and all roving men need the skill of the 
needle that preserves clothing from waste. In onr late 
war, millions wonld have been saved had all the soldiers 
been taught to sew in their boyhood. 

In this view of the case, industrial schools, to teach both 
boys and girls all the economic skill of the family state, are 
of great importance, and a department for this purpose 
should be connected with every school, especially the pub- 
lic schools, where most of the children will earn their own 
livelihood and be exposed to many chances of a roving life. 

Attempts have been made to introduce sewing into pub- 
lic schools, and usually with little or no success, from 
many combining difficulties. One of them arises from the 
increased number of classes for this purpose ; which would 
be relieved by having boys taught to sew in the same class 
with girls. Another difficulty has been the providing of 
materials for sewing and the previous cutting and fitting 
needed, which the parents refuse to supply. A method 
which meets these and other difficulties, and which has 
been successfully tried in industrial schools in England, 
will now be described. 

Let a fund be provided by school officers, or by contri- 
bution, to provide needles, thread, scissors, and thimbles of 
various sizes, and place them in the care of the teacher. 
Let two half-days of the week be devoted to this and other 
industrial employments, giving, as a reward for success in 
careful, neat, and quick accomplishment of the duties, the 
time left beyond that used in the task, as holiday hours. 

Let the first lesson be the use of scissors, in cutting 
straight slips of newspaper, thus training the eye and fin- 
gers to expert measurement and motion. Whoever excels in 
the performance of the allotted task in less than the allotted 
time is to be rewarded with the time, thus gained, for play. 

IN'ext, let the class cut broad strips of paper, and prac- 
tice doubling them in a hem^ first narrow and then broad 
This also cultivates the eyes and trains the fingers. 



308 BASTma—OVEB-SEWlNG— HEMMING. 



Then give a lesson to teach the use of the thimble, using 
a needle without thread, and paper slips to set the needle 
throngh. 

Let the class now have pieces of cheap and thin nn- 
bleached cotton, and cut off from it strips two inches wide, 
being directed to cut hy a thread. At first a thread may be 
drawn to guide the eye. Then, these strips are to be cut 
into pieces five or six inches long, turned doion and pinched 
to prepare for over-sewing, and then put together and 
hasted with a needle and thread, the teacher setting the 
example. 

This last operation is intended to prepare two strips to 
be sewed together by oversewing . In this operation colored 
thread should be used in order to make the stitches show 
more distinctly. Meantime, the pupil is trained to make 
the stitches equal in depth and also at equal distances. 

The teacher is to be provided with a blank-book for 
each pupil, and on the first page is to be inscribed, Over- 
sewing. Beneath this word is to be fastened a specimen of 
the stitch, as soon as the pupil has attained the degree of 
excellence and accuracy required. 

The next lesson is Hemming. To prepare for this, let 
the scholars first cut, out of newspaper, pieces three inches 
square, and fold a hem on each side till it is even and 
smooth. 

Then the unbleached cotton is to be given to be cut and 
prepared in the same way. Finally, the hemming-stitch 
Is to be taught, and the child be required to practice till 
the stitches are equal in size and regular in both slant and 
distances. When this is w^ell executed, the specimen is to 
be fastened to another page of the child's book, under the 
word Hemming. In .the same way, the various stitches 
used for running up seams, for felling, darning, whipping, 
button-holing, stitching, and gathering, should be taught 
on small pieces of white or unbleached cotton, using col- 
ored thread. 

The books in which are fastened the finished specimens 
of sewing, should be preserved by the teacher and exhibit- 
ed at the school examinations, as an encouragement to ex 
cellence. In England, the ladies of wealth and rank take 
pains to establish and superintend, among the poor, in- 
dustrial schools in w^hich are taught other domestic work 
as well as sewing ; and, as the consequence, their servants 



SEWING-MA CHINES— INSTITUTIONS. 309 



and dependents are well trained for the duties of their 
station. It is hoped that American ladies will make 
similar efforts for the children of the poorer classes, and 
employ all their influence to promote industrial training 
in Our common schools ; and also, to see that instruction 
in these important matters be given to their own daugh- 
ters, who may become mistresses and directors of future 
homes, or who, in the constantly changing fortunes of our 
land, may need to perform as well as to guide the doing of 
these homely duties. 

It is a mistake to suppose that sewing-machines lessen 
the importance of hand-sewing. All the mending for a 
family, and much of the altering of clothing and house fur- 
niture, must be done only by the hand. In all poor fami- 
lies that own no machine, and in all cases where persons 
travel, the whole sewing needed must be done by hand. 

It is especially for the benefit of the poor who can not 
have machines, that all the children of our common 
schools should be taught not only to sew, but to mend and 
to cut and fit common garments. Hard-working mothers 
can not teach this art, and the school-teacher is the proper 
person to do it. ]^or should this be added to the ordinary 
severe and wearing labor of a teacher, but other less im- 
portant branches should give place to this. It is the con- 
stant complaint of all who are seeking to help the destitute, 
that women are not trained properly to do any kind of 
domestic work, and there is no way in which philanthropy 
can be more wisely exerted than in urging the establish- 
ment of industrial schools. 

It is the hope of the writer that a day is coming Avhen 
all women will be made truly independent, by being trained 
in early life to employments by which they can secure a 
home and income for themselves, if they do not marry or 
if they become widows. This is what is done for daughters 
in European countries, and should be done in our own. 

Institutions for training women to employments suitable 
for their sex should be established and endowed^ the same 
as agricultural and other professional schools for men. 
When this is done, there will be a liberal profession for 
women of culture and refinement, securing to widows and 
unmarried women such advantages as have hitherto been 
enjoyed only by the more favored sex. 



XXIX. 

WARMING AND YE]SrnLATION. 

Theee is no department of science, as applied to practical 
matters, whicli has so often baffled experimenters as the 
healthful mode of warming and ventilating houses. The 
British nation spent over a million on the House of Parlia- 
ment for this end, and failed. Our own government has 
spent half a million on the Capitol, with worse failure ; and 
now it is proposed to spend a million more. The reason is, 
that the old open fireplace has been supplanted by less ex- 
pensive modes of heating, destructive to health ; and science 
has but just begun experiments to secure a remedy for the 
evil. 

The open fire warms the person, the walls, the floors and 
the furniture by radiation, and these, together with the fire, 
warm the air by convection. For the air resting on the 
heated surfaces is warmed by convection, rises and gives 
place to cooler particles, causing a constant heating of its 
particles by movement. Thus in a room with an open fire, 
the person is warmed in part by radiation from the fire 
and the surrounding walls and furniture, and in part by 
the warm air surrounding the body. 

In regard to the warmth of air, the thermometer is not 
an exact index of its temperature. For all bodies are con- 
stantly radiating their heat to cooler adjacent surfaces until 
all come to the same temperature. This being so,, the 
thermometer is radiating its heat to walls and surrounding 
objects, in addition to what is subtracted by the aii that 
surrounds it, and thus the air is really several degrees 
warmer than the thermometer indicates. A room at 70° 
by the thermometer is usually filled with air five or more 
degrees warmer than this. 

JSTow, the cold air is denser than warm, and therefore 
contains more oxygen. Consequently, the cooler the air in- 
spired, the larger the supply of oxygen and of the vitality 



OPEN FIBE8-FTTRNACES. . 311 



and vigor wliich it imparts. Thus, the great problem for 
economy of healtli is to warm the person as much as pos- 
sible by radiated heat, and supply the lungs with cool air. 
For when we breathe air at from' 16° to 20°, we take double 
the amount of oxygen that we do when we inhale it at 80° 
to 90°, and consequently can do double the amount of muscle 
and brain work. 

Warming by an open fire is nearest to the natural mode 
of the Creator, who heats the earth and its furniture by the 
great central fire of heaven, and sends cool breezes for our 
lungs. But open fires involve great destruction of fuel 
and expenditure of money, and in consequence economic 
methods have been introduced to the great destruction of 
health and life. 

Of these methods, the most popular is that by which ra- 
diated heat is banished, and all warmth is gained by intro- 
ducing heated air. This is the method employed in our 
national Capitol, where both warming and ventilation are 
attempted by means of fans worked by steam, which force 
in the heated air. This is an expensive mode, used only 
for large establishments, and its entire failure at our capi- 
tol will probably prevent in futm^e any very extensive use 
ofit. , 

But the most common mode of warming is by heated air 
introduced from a furnace. The chief objection to this is 
the loss of all radiated heat, and the consequent necessity 
of breathing air which is debilitating both from its heat and 
also from being usually deprived of the requisite moisture 
provided by the Creator in all out- door air. Another ob- 
jection is the fact that it is important to health to preserve 
an equal circulation of the blood, and the greatest impedi- 
ment to this is a mode of heating which keeps the head in 
warmer air than the feet. This is especially deleterious in an 
age and country where active brains are constantly drawing 
blood from the extremities to the head. All fm-nace- 
heated rooms have coldest air at the feet, and warmest 
around the head. It is also rarely the case that furnace- 
heated houses have proper arrangements for carrying off 
the vitiated air. 

There are some recent scientific discoveries that relate to 
impure air which may properly be introduced here. It is 
shown by the microscope that fermentation is a process 
which generates extremely minute plants, that gradually 



312 DISEASES. 

increase till tlie whole mass is pervaded by this vegetation. 
The microscope also has revealed the fact that, in certain 
diseases, these microscopic plants are generated in the 
blood and other fluids of the body, in a mode similar to 
the ordinary process of fermentation. 

And, what is very curious, each of these peculiar dis- 
eases generates diverse kinds of plants. Thus in the ty- 
phoid fever, the microscope reveals in the fluids of the 
patient a plant that resembles in form some kinds of sea- 
weed. In chills and fever, the microscopic plant has an- 
other form, and in small-pox still another. A work has 
recently been published, in Europe, in which representa- 
tions of these various microscopic plants generated in the 
fluids of the diseased persons are exliibited, enlarged seve- 
ral hundred times by the microscope. All diseases that 
exhibit these microscopic plants are classed together, and 
are called Zymotic^ from a Greek word signifying to fer- 
ment. 

These zymotic diseases sometimes have a local origin, as 
in the case of ague caused by miasma of swamps; and 
then they are named endemic. In other cases, they are 
caused by personal contact with the diseased body or its 
clothing, as the itch or small-pox ; or else by eflluvia from 
the sick, as in measles. Such are called contagious or infec- 
tious. In other cases, diseases result from some unknown 
cause in the atmosphere, and affect numbers of people at 
the same time, as in influenza or scarlet fever, and these 
are called epidemics. 

It is now regarded as probable that most of these dis- 
eases are generated by the microscopic plants which float 
in an impure or miasmatic atmosphere, and are taken into 
the blood by breathing. 

Kecent scientific investigations in Great Britain and 
other countries prove that the power of resisting these dis- 
eases depends upon the purity of the air which has been 
hahitually inspired. The human body gradually accom- 
modates itself to unhealthful circumstances, so that people 
can live a long time in bad air. But the " reserve power" 
of the body, that is, the power of resisting disease, is under 
such circumstances gradually destroyed, and then an epi- 
demic easily sweeps away those thus enfeebled. The 
plague of London, that destroyed thousands every day, 
came immediately after a long period of damp, warm days, 



EFFECTS OF MALABLA.. 3IJ 



when there was no wind to carry off the miasma thus 
generated ; while the people, by long breathing of bad air, 
were all prepared, from having sunk into a low vitality, to 
fall before the pestilence. 

'Multitudes of public documents show that the fatality 
of epidemics is always proportioned to the degree in which 
impure air has previously been respired. Sickness and 
death are therefore regulated by the degree in which air is 
kept pure, especially in case of diseases in which medical 
treatment is most uncertain, as in cholera and malignant 
fevers. 

Investigations made by governmental authority, and by 
boards of health in this country and in Great Britain, prove 
that zymotic diseases ordinarily result from impure air 
generated by vegetable or animal decay, and that in almost 
all cases they can be prevented by keeping the air pure. 
The decayed animal matter sent off from the skin and 
lungs in a close, unventilated bedroom is one thing that 
generates these zymotic diseases. The decay of animal and 
tegetable matter in cellars, sinks, drains, and marshy dis- 
tricts is another cause ; and the decayed vegetable matter 
thrown up by plowing up of decayed vegetable matter in 
the rich soil in new countries is another. 

In the investigations made in certain parts of Great 
Britain, it appeared that in districts where the air is 
pure the deaths average 11 in 1000 each year; while in 
localities most exposed- to impure miasma, the mortality 
was 45 in every thousand. At this rate, thirty-four per- 
sons in every thousand died from poisoned air, who would 
have preserved health and life by well-ventilated homes in 
a pure atmosphere. And, out of all who died, the propor- 
tion who owed "their deaths to foul air was more than three 
fourths. Similar facts have been obtained by boards of 
health in our own country. 

Mr. Leeds gives statistics showing, that in Philadelphia, 
by improved modes of ventilation and other sanitary me- 
thods, there was a saving of 3237 lives in two years ; and 
a saving of three • fourths of a million of dollars, which 
would pay the whole expense of the public schools. Phi- 
ladelphia being previously an unusually cleanly and well- 
ventilated city, what would be the sa.ving of life, health, 
and wealth were such a city as I^ew-York perfectly 
cleansed and ventilated ? 



314 CARBONIC ACID. 



Here it is proper to state again tliat conflicting opinions 
are fonnd in many writers on ventilation in regard to the 

Sosition of ventilating registers to carry off vitiated air. 
lost writers state that the impure air is heavier, and falls 
to the bottom of a room. After consulting scientific men 
extensively on this point, the writer finds the true result 
to be as follows : Carbonic acid is heavier than common 
air, and, unmixed, falls to the floor. But by the principle 
of difftision of gases^ the air thrown from the lungs, though 
at first it sinks a little, is gradually diffused, and in a heated 
room, in the majority of cases, it is found more abundant- 
ly at the top than at the bottom of the room, though in 
certain circumstances it is more at the bottom. For this 
reason, registers to carry off impure air should be placed at 
both the top and bottom of a room. 

In arranging for pure air in dwellings, it is needful to 
proportion the air admitted and discharged to the number 
of persons. As a guide to this, we have the following cal- 
culation : On an average, every adult vitiates about half a 
pint of air at each inspiration, and inspires twenty times a 
minute. This would amount to one hogshead of air vitiated 
every hour by every grown person. To keep the air pure, 
this amount should enter and be carried out every hour 
for each person. If, then, ten persons assemble in a dining- 
room, ten hogsheads of air should enter and ten be dis- 
charged each hour. By the same rule, a gathering of ^yq 
hundred persons demands the entrance and discharge of 
five hundred hogsheads of air every hour, and a thousand 
persons require a thousand hogsheads of air every hour. 

In calculating the size of registers and conductors, then, 
we must have reference to the number of persons who are 
to abide in a dwelling ; while for rooms or halls intended 
for large gatherings, a far greater allowance must be 
made. 

The most successful mode before the public, both for 
warming and ventilation, is that of Lewis Leeds, who was 
employed by government to ventilate the military hospi- 
tals and also the treasury building at Washington. This 
method has been adopted in various school-houses, and also 
by A. T. Stewart in his hotel for women in ISTew-York 
City. The Leeds plan embraces the mode of heating both 
by radiation and convection, very much resembling the 
open fireplace in operation, and yet securing great econo- 



THE LEEBS MODE OF TENTIL4TI0K 315 



my. It is modeled strictly after tlie mode adopted by the 
Creator in warming and ventilating the earth, the home of 
his great earthly family. It aims to have a passage of pure 
air through every room, as the breezes pass over the hills, 
and to have a method of warming chiefly by radiation, as 
the earth is warmed by the sun. In addition to this, the 
air is to be provided with moisture, as it is supplied out- 
doors by exhalations from the earth and its trees and plants. 

The mode of accomplishing this is by placing coils of 
steam, or hot water pipes, under windows, which warm the 
parlor walls and furniture, partly by radiation, and partly 
by the air warmed on the heated surfaces of the coils. At 
the same time, by regulating registers, or by simply opening 
the lower part of the window, the pure air, guarded from 
immediate entrance into the room, is admitted directly 
upon the coils, so that it is partially warmed before it 
.reaches the person : and thus cold drafts are prevented. 
Then the vitiated air is drawn off through registers both 
at the top and bottom of the room, opening into a heated 
exhausting flue, through which the constantly ascending 
current of warm air carries it off. These heated coils are 
often used for warming houses without any arrangement 
for carrying off the vitiated air, when, of course, their pecu- 
liar usefulness is gone. 

The moisture may be supplied by a broad vessel placed 
on or close to the heated coils, giving a large surface for 
evaporation. When rooms are warmed chiefly by radiated 
heat, the air can be borne much cooler than in rooms warmed 
by hot-air furnaces, just as a person in the radiating sun can 
bear much cooler air than in the shade. A time will come 
when walls and floors will be contrived to radiate heat in- 
stead of absorbing it from the occupants of houses, as is 
generally the case at the present time, and then all can 
breathe pure and cool air. 

We are now prepared to examine more in detail the 
modes of warming and ventilation employed in the dwell- 
ings planned for this work. 

In doing this, it should be remembered that the aim is not 
to give plans of houses to suit the architectural taste or the 
domestic convenience of persons who intend to keep several 
servants, and care little ^vhether they breathe pure or bad 
air, nor of persons who do not wish to educate their childrer 
to manual industry or to habits of close economy. 



316: APPLICATION TO HOUSES IN THIS WOBK. 



On the contrary, the aim is, first, to secure a house in 
which every room shall be perfectly ventilated both day and 
night, and that too without the watchful care and constant 
attention and intelligence needful in houses not provided 
with a proper and successful mode of ventilation. 

The next aim is, to arrange the conveniences of domestic 
labor so as to save time, and also to render such work less 
repulsive than it is made by common methods, so that chil- 
dren can be trained to love house-work. And lastly, econo- 
my of expense in house-building is sought. These things 
should be borne in mind in examining the plans of this 
work. 

In the Cottage plan, (Chap II. Fig. 1,) the pure air for 
rooms on the ground floor is to be introduced by a wooden 
conductor .one foot square, running under the floor from 
the front door to the stove-room ; with cross branches to 
the two large rooms. The pure air passes through this, 
protected outside by wire netting, and delivered inside 
through registers in each room, as indicated in Fig. 1. 

In case open Franklin stoves are used in the large rooms, 
the pure air from the conductor should enter behind them, 
and thus be partially warmed. The vitiated air is carried 
off at the bottom of the room through the open stoves, and 
also at the top by a register opening into a conductor to the 
exhausting warm-air shaft, which, it will be remembered, 
is the square chimney, containing the iron pipe which re- 
ceives the kitchen stove-pipe. The stove-room receives pure 
air from the conductor, and sends off impure air and the 
smells of cooking by a register opening directly into the 
exhausting shaft; while its hot air and smoke, passing 
through the iron pipe, heat thg air of the shaft, and produce 
the exhausting current. The construction of the exhausting 
or warm-air shaft is described on page 63. 

The large chambers on the second floor (Fig. 12) have 
pure air conducted from the stove-room through registers 
that can be closed if the heat or smells of cooking are un- 
pleasant. The air in the stove-room will always be moist 
from the water of the stove boiler. 

The small chambers have pure air admitted from windows 
sunk at top half an inch ; and the warm, vitiated air is con- 
ducted by a register in the ceiling which opens into a con- 
ductor to the exhausting warm- air shaft at the centre of the 
house, as shown in Fig. IT. 



MOISTURE. 317 



The basement or cellar is ventilated by an opening into 
the exhausting air shaft, to remove impure air, and a small 
opening over each glazed door to admit pm^e air. The doors 
open out into a " well," or recess, excavated in the earthy 
before the cellar, for the admission of light and air, neatly 
bricked up and whitewashed. The doors are to be made 
entirely of strong, thick glass sashes, and this will give light 
enough for laundry work ; the tubs and ironing-table being 
placed close to the glazed door. The floor must be plas- 
tered with water-lime, and the walls and ceiling be white- 
washed, which will add reflected light to the room. There 
will thus be no need of other windows, and the house 
need not be raised above the ground. Several cottages have 
been built thus, so that the o-round floors and conservatories 
are nearly on the same level ; and all agree that they are 
pleasanter than when raised higher. 

When a window in any room is sunk at the top, it should 
have a narrow shelf in front inclined to the opening, so as 
to keep out the rain. In small chambers for one person, an 
inch opening is sufiicient, and in larger rooms for two 'per- 
sons, a two-inch opening is needed. The openings into the 
exhausting air flue should vary from eight inches to twelve 
inches square, or more, according to the number of persons 
who are to sleep in the room. 

The time when ventilation is most difficult is the medium 
weather in spring and fall, when the air, though damp, is 
similar in temperature outside and in. Then the warm-air 
flue is indispensable to proper ventilation. This is especially 
needed in a room used for school or church purposes. 

Everv room used for largie nmnbers should have its air 
regulated not only as to its warmth and purity, but also as 
to its supply of moisture ; and for this purpose will be found 
very convenient the instrument called the Hygrodeik,* 
which shows at once the temperature and the moistm^e. A 
work by Dr. Derby on Anthracite Coal, scientific men say 
has done much mischief by an improved theory that the dis- 
comfort of furnace heat is caused by the passage of car- 
bonic oxide through the iron of the furnace heaters, and not 
by want of moisture. God made the air right, and taking 
out its moisture must be wrong. 

* It is manufactured by N. M. Lowe, Boston, and sold by him and J. 
O.neen & Go., Pliiladelpbia. 



318 BADIATED HEAT. 



The preceding remarks illustrate the advantages of the 
cottage plan in respect to ventilation. The economy of 
the mode of warming next demands attention. In the first 
place, it should be noted that the chimney being at the 
centre of the house, no heat is lost by its radiation through 
outside walls into open air, as is the case with all fireplaces 
and grates that have their backs and flues joined to an out- 
side wall. 

In this plan, all the radiated heat from the stove serves 
to warm the walls of adjacent rooms in cold weather ; while 
in the warm season, the non-conducting summer casings of 
the stove send all the heat not used in cooking either into 
the exhausting warm-air shaft or into the central cast-iron 
pipe. In addition to this, the sliding doors of the stove-room 
(which should be only six feet high, meeting the partition 
coming from the ceiling) can be opened in cool days, and 
then the heat from the stove would temper the rooms each 
side of the kitchen. In hot weather, they could be kept 
closed except when the stove is used, and then opened only 
for a short time. The Franklin stoves in the large room 
would give the radiating warmth and cheerful blaze of an 
open fire, while radiating heat also from all their surfaces. 
In cold weather, the air of the larger chambers could be 
tempered by registers admitting warm air from the stove- 
room, which would always be sufficiently moistened by 
evaporation from the stationary boiler. The conservato- 
ries in winter, protected from frost by double sashes, would 
contribute agreeable moisture to the larger rooms. In case 
the size of a family required more rooms, another story 
could.be ventilated and warmed by the same mode, with 
little additional expense. 

. We will next notice the economy of time, labor, and 
expense secured by this cottage plan. The laundry work 
being done in the basement, all the cooking, dish-washing, 
etc., can be done in the kitchen and stove-room on the 
ground floor; But in case a larger kitchen is needed, the 
lounges can be put in the front part of the large room, and 
the movable screen placed so as to give a work-room adja- 
cent to the kitchen, and the front side of the same be used 
for the eating-room. Where the movable screen is used, 
the floor should be oiled wood. A square piece of carpet can 
be put in the centre of the front part of the room, to keep 
the feet warm when sitting around the table, and small 



GENEBAL SUGGESTjeNS. 319 



rugs can be placed before tbe lounges or otber sitting-places, 
for the same purpose. 

Most cottages are so divided bj entries, stairs, closets, 
etc., that there can be no large rooms. But in this plan, 
by the use of the movable screen, two fine large rooms can 
be secured whenever the family work is over, while the 
conveniences for work will very much lessen the time 
required. 

In certain cases, where the closest economy is needful, 
two small families can occupy the cottage, by having a 
movable screen in both rooms, and using the kitchen in 
common, or divide it and have two smaller stoves. Each 
kitchen will then have a window and as much room as is 
given to the kitchen in great steamers' that provide for 
several hundred. 

Whoever plans a house with a view to economy must 
arrange rooms around a central chimney, and avoid all pro- 
jecting appendages. Dormer windows are far more ex- 
pensive than common ones, and are less pleasant. Every 
addition projecting from a main building greatly increases 
expense of building, and still more of warming and venti- 
lating. 

It should be introduced, as one school exercise in every 
female seminary, to plan houses with reference to economy 
of time, labor, and expense, and also with reference to good 
architectural taste ; and the teacher should be qualified to 
point out faults and give the instruction needed to prevent 
such mistakes in practical life. Every girl should be 
trained to be "a wise woman" that ''buildeth her house" 
aright. 

There is but one mode of ventilation yet tried, that will, 
at all seasons ■ of the year and all hours of the day and 
night, secure pure air without 4angerous draughts, and that 
is by an exhausting warm-air flue. This is always secured 
by an open fireplace, so long as its chimney is kept warm 
by any fire. And in many cases, a fireplace with a flue of 
a certain dimension and height will secure good ventilation 
except when the air without and within are at the same 
temperature. 

When no exhausting warm-air flue can be used, the 
opening of doors and windows is. the only resort. Every 
sleeping-room without a fireplace that draws smoke well 
should have a window raised at the bottom or sunk at the 



320 STOVES. 

top at least an inch, with an inclined shelf ontside or in, to 
keep out rain, and then it is properly ventilated. Or a 
door should be kept opened into a hall with an open win- 
dow. Let the bed-clothing be increased, so as to keep warm 
in bed, and protect the head also, and then the more air 
comes into a sleeping-room the better for health. 

In reference to the warming of rooms and houses already 
built, there is no doubt that stoves are the most economi- 
cal mode, as they radiate heat and also warm by convec- 
tion. The grand objection to their use is the difficulty of 
securing proper ventilation; If a room is well warmed by 
a stove and then a suitable opening made for the entrance 
of a good supply of out-door air, and by a mode that will 
prevent dangerous draughts, all is right as to pure air. 
But in this case, the feet are always on cold floors, sur- 
rounded by the coldest air, while the head is in air of 
much higher temperature. 

There is a great difference as to healthfulness and econo- 
my in the great variety of stoves with which the market is 
filled. The competition in this manufacture is so strin- 
gent, and so many devices are employed by agents, that 
there is constant and enormous imposition on the public 
and an incredible outlay on poor stoves, that soon burn 
out or break, while they devour fuel beyond calculation. 
If some benevolent and scientific organization could be 
formed that would, from disinterested motives, afford some 
reliable guidance to the public, it probably would save 
both millions of money and much domestic discomfort. 

The stove described in Chapter Y. is protected by pa- 
tents in its chief advantages, but this has not restrained 
many of the trade from incorporating some of its leading 
excellences and claiming to have added superior elements. 
' Others will inform any wh9 inquire for it, that it is out of 
market, because later stoves have proved superior. Should 
any who read this work wish to be sure of securing this 
stove, and also of gaining minute directions for its use, they 
may apply to the writer. Miss C. E. Beecher, 69 West 38th 
Street, JSTew-York, inclosing 25 cents. 

She will then forward the manufacturers' printed descrip- 
tive circulars, and her own advice as to the best selection 
from the different sizes, and directions for its use, based on 
her own personal experience and that of many friends. 
Should any purchases be made through this medium, the 



GAS-STOVES. 321 



manufacturers have agreed to pay a certain percentage 
into the treasury of the Benevolent Association mentioned 
at the close of this volume. 

There is no more dangerous mode of heating a room 
than by a gas-stove. There is inevitably more or less 
leakage of the gas which it is unhealthful to breathe. 
And proper ventilation is scarcely ever secured by those 
who use such stoves. The same fatal elements of imper- 
fect ventilation with its attendant horrors of disease, ex- 
travagant wastefulness of material, of fuel, of labor, of 
time, and of destruction to the apparatus itself, seem con- 
comitants of all ordinary stoves and cooking arrangements 
of the present day, unless those who use them are constant 
and unremitting in the exercise of intelligent watchfulness, 
guarding against these evils. And in view of the almost 
inevitable stupidity and carelessness of servants, who gen- 
erally have charge of such things, and the frequent 
thoughtlessness even of intelligent women who manage 
their own kitchens, the writer believes she is doing a pub- 
lic service by offering her own experience as a guide to 
simpler, cheaper, and more wholesome means of living and 
preparing the family food. 



CHAPTEE XXX. 



CAKE OF THE IQNOKAJS^T, THE HOMELESS, THE HELPLESS, AND 

THE VICIOUS. ' 

In considering the duties owed to the helpless, ignorant, 
and vicious, it is needful to recur again to the end for which 
the family state was instituted by God. This, as stated in 
the first chapter, is the training of our whole race to the 
highest possible virtue and happiness, with chief reference 
to the future world. 

Every human being commences existence under a minis- 
try of self-sacrificing love, which trains the ignorant and 
helpless to the happiness gained by obedience to the laws 
of God in reference to this life. But it is introductory to 
that still higher ministry which chiefiy regards the dangers 
and rewards of the world to come. 

Whatever variety of opinion there may be as to the 
nature of these exposures, or as to the amount of suffering 
to those not saved, or as to the extent of its duration, it is 
made perfectly clear that these dangers are so dreadful 
that Jesus Christ underwent the extremest self-sacrifice 
and suffering to save men from them, and that he enjoins 
his followers to do the same whenever it will avail.* And 
the emblem by which this is illustrated is the family state, 
in which the Head is a " Lamb slain from the foundation 
of the world" — a pure and innocent being suffering to 
save. Then " the church," embracing all his true fol- 

* The difficulty on this subject has arisen from the past modes of pre- 
senting it, which originated in barl^rous ages, and which are not found 
in the teachings of Jesus Christ. Some of them represent the Father of 
all as a severe executioner for sins committed, often in ignorance of his 
laws ; while this short life i-s assumed to be the only period in which hu- 
man character is to be formed. That the character and conduct of this 
life influence our happiness in the future state, so that those who are 
trained to a loving obedience to God's laws in this world are safer and 
happier than those who are not, is most clearly revealed ; but when this 
training ends is left in wise and awful darkness. 



THE OLD AND NEW DISPENSATIONS. 323 



lowers, is presented as " the Lamb's wife," who, by labor 
and self-sacrifice, is to train the children of her Lord to a 
loving obedience to his laws, as the way to gain eternal 
safety and happiness. 

The earliest training of onr race by revelations from 
God was by the instrumentality of the patriarchs and pro- 
phets. The Israelites^ selected to be the religions edu- 
cators of mankind, were first instructed in the wisdom of 
Egypt, then the nation most advanced in civilization. 
Tne}^ were then trained by the laws of Moses in duties 
relating to the welfare of the individual, the family, and 
the nation, but solely with relation to this life. Faith in an 
unseen God, including not only intellectual belief that 
^' He is, and is a rewarder," but a controlling purpose of ohe- 
dience to Mm^ was made known as the path of safety and 
prosperity for this life and the life to come. The Israelites 
were not required to labor for the elevation of the nations 
around them. On the contrary, so liable were they to run 
into idolatry and its vices, that intermarriage and commer- 
cial intercourse with outsiders were forbidden. They thjis 
regarded themselves as the only children of God and all 
other nations as aliens. 

But when the " fullness of time " had come, Jesus Christ 
appeared, to teach all nations the fatherhood of God and 
the consequent brotherhood of man. At the same time 
were revealed the dangers of the life to come and the new 
resulting duties. From that eventful day commenced the 
obligations of the Christian family. That " faith in God " 
by which the patriarchs and prophets were saved is still 
the only way of salvation ; for it still includes the spiritual 
principle of obedience to him. But Jesus Christ, by re- 
vealing more clearly the dangers of the future world and 
the universal brotherhood of man, has enlarged the field 
of duty and the demand for such self-denying love and 
labor as his own example has illustrated. These new 
revelations by Jesus Christ are the basis of the dis- 
tinctive duties in which the Christian family is diverse 
from the worldly. Both are alike in the first lessons of 
training the young to obey the physical, social, and moral 
laws of God in order to gain happiness in this life. But 
the worldly family is aiming at the enjoyments of this life 
as the chief end, and at self-denial only so far as is needful 
for this purpose ; while the Christian family seeks earthly 



324 CEBIST^S MISSION AND OUR DUTY. 



good as a subordinate object, and sacrifices it whenever it 
interferes with the greater and chief end, that of saving 
themselves and their fellow-men from the dangers of the 
life to come. It is the great controlling end aimed at 
which divides the worldly from the Christian family. 

Frequently, the rules of duty, in the two cases, operate 
alike to secure enjoyment for this life as w^ell as for the life 
to come. But often the Christian line of duty is in direct 
opposition to the path of earthly ease and enjoyment. 

To illustrate this, suppose a party of pleasure in a safe 
harbor, with no apparent danger, and it would be right for 
all to seek personal and present enjoyment as the chief 
end. But let a sudden squall drive this party out to sea, 
and finally to shipwreck, then the threatening dangers 
would change the rules of duty. Seeking ease and en- 
joyment would cease to be right, and it would become 
the duty of all, and at whatever sacrifice, to exert every 
power of mind and body to save as many as possible from 
these dangers. 

Thus it appears that the grand aim of Christ's mission 
to earth was to teach us to live, not for this world as our 
chief aim, but mainly for the world to come; and not for 
selfish ease and enjoyment, but to save our imperiled fel- 
low-men. He first taught clearly the loving fatherhood 
of God to all his creatures, the consequent brotherhood of 
man, and such dangers in the life to come as impose the 
highest obligation to labor and sufi'er in order to save as 
many as possible from ignorance .and sin. 

In this great struggle to save our race from the dangers 
of the future life, the first followers of Christ gave up all 
things and were counted as the ofiEcouring of earth. But 
there was no reason for such sacrifices then which does not 
exist now. The actual number of the ignorant and sinful 
is far greater now than it was then, while the means for 
promoting their redemption involves far less sacrifice and 
sufiering. At first, persecution obliged Christ's followers 
to the loss of all things. Now it is by the use of all things 
that the same work may be carried on ; while every nation 
on earth is safely open to any who may come to teach the 
way to eternal happiness. 

Tlie " glory of God," both as Father and Sovereign, con- 
sists in the virtue and happiness of all to whom he has 
given existence, and we are required, " whether we eat, or 



THE WORLDLY AND THE CHRISTIAN FAMILY. 325 



drink, or whatever we do, to do all for this end, which is 
God's highest glory." Moreover, as before shown, the faith 
in God, " without which it is im]30ssible to please him," con- 
sists, not in a merely intellectual belief, but chiefly in the 
conjoined spiritual principle or controlling purpose to obey 
all his laws as made known by experience, reason, and 
revelation. 

The end of life to a worldly and. a Christian family 
being so diverse, the daily rules of right and wrong will 
often be as diverse. To the worldly, that course will seem 
jight which gains earthly good, and they will seek for 
themselves and their children ease, riches, honor, and 
pleasures that end with this life. But the Christian family 
will be trained '' to endure hardness " in seeking to save 
their fellow-men from the dangers of the life to come. 
They will seek riches ; but it will be " treasures in heaven." 
They will seek "glory and honor;" but it will be by 
" turning many to righteousness," among whom, in the 
life to come, they will " shine as stars forever and ever." 
To one class a large family will be shunned as a trial and 
burden ; to the other, giving existence to immortal minds 
and training them to endless bliss will be sought as the 
highest privilege. Those who do not marry or are child- 
less, will, if worldly, seek earthly ease and pleasure ; but 
if consistent followers of Christ, they will toil to gain a 
home for the orphan, or other neglected and homeless ones, 
and train them for heaven. 

In connection with these distinctive principles of Christ 
for which the family state was instituted, let the following 
facts be considered. The Massachusetts Board of State 
Charities, consisting of some of the most benevolent and 
intelligent gentlemen of that State, in pursuance of their 
official duty visited all the State institutions, and held 
twenty-five meetings during the year 186T-8. By these 
visits and consequent discussions they arrived at certain 
conclusions, which may be briefly condensed as follows. 

]^o state or nation excels Massachusetts in a wise and 
generous care of the helpless, poor, and vicious. The 
agents employed for this end are frugal, industrious, in- 
telligent, and benevolent men and women, with high jn oral 
principles. The pauper and criminal classes requiring to 
be cared for by Massachuse«fcts are less in proportion to the 
whole number of inhabitants than in any other state or 



326. EYIL8 OF PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS. 



nation. Yet, admirable as are these comparative results, 
tliere is room for improvement in a most important parti- 
cular. The report of the Board urges that the present 
mode of collecting special classes in great establishments, 
thongh it may be well as a choice of evils, is not the 
best method for the physical, social, and moral improve- 
ment of those classes ; as it involves many unfortunate 
influences, (which are stated at large :) and the report sug- 
gests that a better w^ay would be to scatter these unfortu- 
nates from temporary receiving asylums into families of 
Christian people all over the State. 

It is suggested, in view of the above, that collecting 
fallen women into one large community is not the best 
way to create a pure moral atmosphere ; and that gather- 
ing one or two hundred children in one establishment is 
not so good for them as to give each child a home in some 
loving Christian family. So of the aged and the sick, the 
blessings of a quiet home, and the tender, patient nursing 
of true Christian love, must be sought in a Christian 
family, not in a great asylum. 

In view of these important facts and suggestions, it may 
be inquired, if the great end and aim of the family state is 
to train the inmates to self-denying love and labor for the 
weak, the suffering, and the sinful, how can it be done 
where there are no young children, no aged persons, no 
invalids, and no sinful ones for whom such sacrifices are to 
be made ? 

"Why are orphan children thrown upon the world, why 
are the aged held in a useless, suifering life, except that 
they may aid in cultivating tender love and labor for the 
helpless, and reverence for the hoary head ? And yet, how 
few children are trained thus to regard the orphan, the 
aged, the helpless, and the vicious around them ! 

Great houses are built for these destitute ones, and all 
the labor and self-denial in taking care of them is trans- 
ferred to paid agents, while thousands of families are thus 
deprived of all opportunity to cultivate the distinctive 
virtues of the Christian household. 

If there is any thing plainly taught in the New Testa- 
ment it IS, that the followers of Christ are to be different 
and distinct from the world around them; " a peculiar 
people," and subject to opposition and ill-will for their dis- 
tinctive peculiarities. 



CHRISTIAN CHARACTEBISTICS. 327 



Of these peculiarities demanded, humility and meekness- 
are conspicuous : '' Come and learn of me, for I am meek 
and lowly, and ye shall find rest." E'ow, the grand aim 
of the rich, worldly, and ambitious is to be at least equal to 
others, or else to rise higher than they in w^ealth, honor, 
and position. This is the great struggle of humanity in all 
ages, especially in this country, and among all classes, to 
rise higher — to be as rich or richer than others — to be as 
well dressed — to be more learned, or in more honored posi- 
tions than others. This was the very thing that made con- 
tention among the apostles, even in the company of their 
Lord, as they walked and " disputed who should be the 
greatest." "And Jesus sat down and called the twelve, 
and said unto them. If any man desire to be first, the same 
shall he last and servant of all ; " and " he that is least among 
you shall be great." 

At another time, the ambitious mother of two disciples 
came and asked that her sons might have the highest place 
in his kingdom, and the other disciples were " moved with 
indignation." Then the Lord taught them that the honor 
and glory of his kingdom was to be exactly the reverse of 
thisw^orld; and that whoever would be great must be a 
minister^ and w^ho would be chief must be a servant; even 
as the Son of Man came not to be ministered to, but to 
minister. 

Again, he rebuked the love of high position and the 
desire of being counted wise as teachers of others : " Be 
not ye called Rabbi, neither be ye called Master ; but he 
that is greatest among you shall be your servant, and'who- 
soever exalteth himself shall be abased." 

Then, as to the strife after w^ealth, into which all are 
now rushing so earnestly, the Lord teaches : " Lay not up 
for yourselves treasures on earth. Whosoever of you for- 
saketh not all that he hath can not be my disciple. Sell 
that ye have, and give alms ; provide yourselves with bags 
that wax not old — a treasure in heaven that faileth not." 
To the rich young man, asking how to gain eternal life, 
the reply was, " Sell all thou hast, and give to "the poor, 
and come and follow me." When the poor widow cast in 
all her living^ she was approved. When the first Christians 
w^ere " filled with the Holy Ghost," they sold all their pos- 
sessions, to be distributed to those that had need, and were 
approved. 



328 PLANS FOE ECONOMICAL BENEVOLENCE. 



And nowhere do we find any direction or approval of 
laying np money for self or for children. A man is ad- 
monished to provide sustenance and education for his 
family, but never to lay up money for them ; and the his- 
tory of the children of the rich is a w^arning that, even in 
a temporal view, the chances are all against the results of 
such use of property. We are to spend all to save the world. 
For this we are to labor and sacrifice ease and wealth, and 
we are to train children to the same self-sacrificing labors. 
All that is spent for earthly pleasure ends here. I^othing 
goes into the future world aSs.a good secured but training 
our own and other immortal minds. Thus only can we 
lay up treasures in heaven. 

There is a crisis at hand in the history of individuals, 
of the church, and of our nation, which must inaugurate a 
hew enterprise to save " the whole world." There must 
be something coming in the Christian churches more con- 
sistent, more comprehensive, more in keeping with the 
command of our ascending Lord — " Go ye {all my follow- 
ers) into all the world^ and preach the gospel to every crea- 
ture ; he that believeth shall be saved, and he that be- 
lieveth not shall be damned !" 

It is in hope and anticipation of such a " revival " of the 
true, self-denying spirit of Christ and of his earnest follow- 
ers, that plans have been drawn for simple modes of living, 
in which both labor and economy may be practiced for 
benevolent ends, and yet without sacrificing the refinements 
of high civilization. One method is exhibited in the first 
chapters, adapted to country residence. In what follows 
will be presented a plan for a city home, having the same 
aim. 

The chief points are to secure economy of labor and 
time by the selention and close packing of conveniences^ and 
also economy of health by a proper mode of warming and 
ventilation. In this connection will be indicated opportu- 
nities and modes that thus may be attained for aiding to 
save the vicious, comfort the suffering, and instruct the 
ignorant. 

Fig. 64 is the ground plan of a city tenement occupy- 
ing two lots of twenty-two feet front, in which there can 
be no side windows ; as is the case with most city houses. 
There are two front and two back-parlors, each twenty feet 
square, with a bedroom and kitchen appended to each: 






OTTOMAN 



PARLOR 
20X20 




330 DETAILED DESCRIPTION: 



making four complete sets of living-rooms. A central hall 
rnns from basement to roof, and is lighted by skylights. 
There is also a .Tentilating recess running from basement 
to roof with whitened walls, and windows opening into it 
secure both light and air to the bedrooms. On one end of 
this recess is a trash-flue closed with a door in the basement, 
and opening into each story, which must ordinarily be kept 
closed to prevent an upward draught, causing dust and light 
particles to rise. At the other end is a dumb-waiter, running 
from cellar to roof, and opening into the hall of each story. 
Eour chimneys are constructed near the centre of the house, 
one for each suite of rooms, to receive a smoke-pipe of cast- 
iron or terra cotta, as described previously, with a space around 
it for warm air ; and this serves as the exhausting-shaft to 
carry off the vitiated air from parlors, kitchens, bedrooms, 
and water-closets. In each kitchen is a stove such as is de- 
scribed in Chapter lY., its pij)e connecting with the central 
cast-iron or terra cotta pipe. The stove can be inclosed by 
slidino;-doors shutting; off the heat in warm weather. 

These kitchen stoves, and a large stove m the basement to 
warm the central hall, would suffice for all the rooms, except 
in the coldest months, when a small terra cotta stove, made for 
this purpose, or even an ordinary iron stove, placed by one 
window in each of the parlors, would give the additional 
heat needed ; while fresh air could be admitted from the 
windows behind the stove, and thus be partially warmed. 

This exhibits the essential feature and peculiarity of Mr. 
Leeds's system of ventilation, before described. Fresh air, 
admitted at the bottom of a slightly raised window, is to 
enter below a window-seat which projects over the stove ; 
the air being thus warmed before entering the room. The 
flue of the stove is seen (in the finished corner of Fig; Tl, 
which is a model for the four other suites of rooms on each 
floor) running along the wall to the front chimney, which 
also receives the corresponding stove-flue from the nearest 
window in the adjoining parlor : the same arrangement be- 
ing repeated at the back of the house. Thus, the two front 
and back chimneys are for the heating, and ventilating 
parlor stoves ; the four central chimneys for cooking, heat- 
ins;, and ventilation. 

When possible, in a large building, steam generated in 
the basement, conducted to coils in each parlor, will be 
found better than the parlor stove. In this case, the room 



PARLOR ARRANGEMENTS. 



331 



will be heated by the coil of steam-pipe ; the slab covering 
it being the window-seat, or guard, under which the cool 
fresh air is conducted to be warmed before passing into the 
room. 

Fig. 65 shows one side of the parlor, giving a series of 
sliding-doors, behind which are hooks, shelves, and " shelf- 
boxes," as described earlier in the book. 



Fig. 65. 




The recess occupied by the sofa stands between these two 
closets. In case the room is used for sleeping, the double 
couch on page 30 might be substituted for the sofa, serving 
as a lounge by day, and two single beds by night. The 
curtain hanging above can be so fastened by rings on a 
strong semi-circular wire as to be let down while dressing 
and undressing, as is done in some of our steamboats. 
Pockets and hooks on the inside of the curtains may be' 
made very useful. 

Fig. QQ represents another side of the same room where 
are two large windows, each having a cushioned seat in its 
recess, (although one may be occupied by a stove, as describ- 
ed above.) A study-table with drawers on both the front 
and back sides furnishes large accommodations for many 
small articles. 

Fig. 67 represents a third side of the same room, with 
sliding doors glazed from top to bottom, to give light to the 
bedroom and kitchen. 

The fourth side appears on the ground plan, (Fig. 64.) 



S32 



COMPACTNESS. 



The ottomans and a few chairs will complete the needful 
furniture. 

By means of forms, shelves, and shelf-boxes, the kitchen 
could hold all stores and implements for cooking and setting 



Fig. 66. 




tables, on the method shown page 32. The eating table is 
close to the kitchen and sink, so that few steps are required 
to bring and remove every article. Thus stove, sink, cook- 
ing materials, the table and its furniture, are all in close 



Fig. 67. 




proximity, and yet, when the inmates are seated at table, 
the sliding-doors will shut out the kitchen, while the bad air 



GENERAL ADVANTAGES. 333 



and smells of cooking are carried off by the ventilating ex- 
haust-shaft. 

The bedroom has a bath-tub and water-closet. The tub 
need not be more than four feet long, and a half -cover 
raised by a hinge will, when down, hold wash-bowl and 
pitcher, when the tub is not in use. Around the bedroom 
high and wide shelves and shelf -boxes near the ceiling serve 
to store large articles ; and narrower shelves with pegs 
under them for clothing, protected by a curtain, furnish 
other conveniences for storage. The trash-ilue serves to 
send off rubbish with but few steps, and the dumb-waiter 
brings up fuel, stores, etc. Each bedroom must be provided 
with a vpntilating register at the top, connecting with the 
warm foul-air flue in the chimney. 

For a family of four persons, one parlor, with its kitchen 
and bedroom, couches and side closets, would supply all 
needful accommodations. For a larger family, sliding-doors 
into the adjacent parlor, its appended kitchen being arrang- 
ed for another bedroom, would accommodate a family of 
ten persons. 

A front and a back entrance may be in the basement, 
which can be used for family stores, each family having 
one room. A general laundry with drying closets could be 
provided in the attic, and lighted from the roof. 

Such a building, four stories high, would accommodate 
sixteen families of four members, or eight larger families, 
and provide light, warmth, ventilation, and more comforts 
and conveniences than are usually found in most city houses 
built for only one family. Here young married persons 
with frugal and benevolent tastes could commence house- 
keeping in a style of comfort and good taste rarely excelled 
in mansions of the rich. The spaces usually occupied by 
stairs, entries, closets, etc., would on this plan be thrown into 
fine, large, airy rooms, with every convenience close at hand. 

In one of our large cities is to be found a Christian lady 
who inherited a handsome establishment with means to sup- 
port it in the style comrhon to the rich. In the spirit of 
Christ she " sold all that she had, and gave to the poor," by 
establishing a Home for Incurables, and making her home 
with them, giving her time and wealth to promoting their 
temporal comfort and spiritual welfare. Was this doing 
more than her duty — 7nore than the example and teachings 
of Christ require ? 



334 SUGGESTIONS TO TEE WEALTHY. 



Suppose several ladies of similar views and character in 
one city, having only moderate wealth and leisure, unite to 
erect such a building as the one described, in a light and 
healthful part of the city of E'ew-York, and then should 
take up their residence in it, and from the vast accumula- 
tion of misery and sin at hand on every side, should select 
the orphans, the aged, the sick, and the sinful, and spend 
time and money for their temporal and spiritual elevation ; 
would they do more than the example and teachings of . 
Christ enjoin ? Or would their enjoyment, even in this 
life, be diminished by exchanging a routine chiefly of per- 
sonal gratification for such self-denying ministries? It 
was " for the joy that was set before Him" through the 
everlasting ages that our Lord " endured the cross," and it is 
to the same supernal glories that he invites his followers, 
and by the same path he trod. 

Here it probably will be said that all rich women can 
not do what is here suggested, owing to multitudinous 
claims, or to incapacity of mind or body for carrying out 
such an attempt. It will also be said that there are many 
other ways for practicing self-denial besides selling our 
homes and taking a humbler style of living. This is all 
true. But we are told that there are "greatest" and 
" least " in that kingdom of heaven where the chief happi- 
ness is in living to serve others, and not for self. Those 
who can not change their expensive style of living, and are 
obliged to spend most of their thoughts and wealth on self 
and those who are a part of self, will be among the least 
and lowest in happiness and honor, while those who take 
the low places on earth to raise others will be the happiest 
and most honored in the kingdom of heaven. 

There are many residences in our large cities where 
women claiming to be Christ's followers live in almost soli- 
tary grandeur till the warm season, and then shut them up 
to spend their time at watering-places or country resorts. 
The property invested in such city establishments, and the 
income required to keep them up, would secure " Christian 
homes " to many suffering, neglected, homeless children of 
Christ, who are living in impure air, with all the debasing 
influences found in city tenement-houses. Meantime, the 
owners of this wealth are suffering in mind and body for 
want of some grand and noble object in life. If they could 
not personally live in such an establishment as is here de- 



THE NOBLER VIEW. 335 



scribed, by self-denying arrangements and combination 
with others they conld provide and superintend one. 

Our minds are created in the image of our Father in 
heaven, and capable of being made happy, as his is, by the 
outpouring of blessings on others. And when we are in- 
vited by our divine Lord to take his yoke and bear his 
burden, it is for our own highest happiness as well as for the 
good of others. And whoever truly obeys finds the yoke 
easy and the burden light, and knows that they bring rest to 
the soul. But those who shrink from the true good, to live 
a life of self-indulgent ease, will surely find that mere 
earthly enjoyments pall on the taste, that they perish in 
the using, that they never satisfy the cravings of a soul 
created for a higher sphere and nobler mission. 

The Bible represents that there is an emergency^a great 
conflict in the world unseen — and that we on earth, who are 
Christ's people, are to take a part in this conflict and in the 
" fellowship of his suflerings," to redeem his children from 
the slavery of sin and eternal death ; and there is the same 
call to labor and sacrifice now as there was when he com- 
manded, " Go into all the world, and preach the Gospel to 
every creature." 

But is not the larger part of the church — especially those 
who have wealth — practically living on no higher princi- 
ples than the pious Jews and virtuous heathen ? Are they 
not living just as if there were no great emergency, no 
terrible risks and danger to their fellow- men in the life to 
come ? Are they not living just as if all men were safe 
after they leave this world, and all we need to aim at is to 
make ourselves and others virtuous and happy in this life, 
without disturbing anxiety about the life to come ? And 
is the training of most Christian families diverse from that 
of pious Jews, in reference to the dangers of our fellow- 
- men in the future state, and the consequent duty of labor 
and sacrifice in order to extend the true religion all over 
the earth ? 

One mode of avoiding self-denial in style of living is by 
the plea that, if all rich Christians gave up the expensive 
establishments common to this class and adopted such 
econo?nies as are here suggested, it would tend to lower 
civilization and take away support from those living by the 
fine arts. But while the world is rushing on to such pro- 
fuse expenditure, will not all these elegancies and refine- 



336 THE TBTJEB GALLING. 



ments be abundantly supported, and is there as mncli dan- 
ger in this direction as there is of avoiding the self-denying 
example of Christ and his early followers ? They gave up 
all they had, and " wer^e scattered abroad, preaching the 
word ;" and was there any' reason existing then for self- 
denying labor that does not exist now ? There are more 
idolaters and more sinful men now, in actual numbers, 
than there were then ; while teaching them the way of 
eternal life does not now, as it did then, involve the " loss 
of all things " and " deaths often." 

Moreover, would not the fine arts, in the end, be better 
supported by imparting culture and refined tastes to the 
neglected ones? Teaching industry, thrift, and benevo- 
lence is far better than scattering alms, which often do 
more harm than good ; and would not enabling the masses 
to enjoy the fine arts and purchase in a moderate style sub- 
serve' the interests of civilization as truly as for the rich 
to accumulate treasures for themselves in the common ex- 
clusive style ? 

In the Protestant churches, women are educated only to 
be married; and when not married, there is no position 
provided which is deemed as honorable as that of a wife. 
But in the Koman Catholic Church, the unmarried woman 
who devotes herself to works of Christian benevolence is the 
most highly honored, and has a place of comfort and re- 
spectability provided which is suited to her education and 
capacity. Thus come great nunneries, with lady superiors 
to control conscience and labor and wealth. 

But a time is coming when the family state is to be 
honored and ennobled by single women, qualified to sus- 
tain it by their own industries ; women who will both sup- 
port and train the children of their Lord and Master in the 
true style of Protestant independence, controlled by no 
superior but Jesus Christ. And in the Bible they will 
find the Father of the faithful, to both Jews and Gentiles, 
their great exemplar. For nearly one hundred years Abra- 
ham had no child of his own ; but his household, whom he 
trained to the number of three hundred and eighteen, were 
children of others. And he was the friend of God, chosen 
to be father of many nations, because he would " command 
his household to do justice and judgment and keep the 
way of the Lord." 

The woman who from true love consents to resign her 



THE BETTER PART. 837 



independence and be supported by another, while slie 
bears children and trains them for heaven, has a noble 
mission ; bnt the woman who earns her own independence 
that she may train the neglected children of her Lord and 
Saviour has a still higher one. And a day is coming when 
Protestant women will be tr^ained for this, their highest 
ministry and profession, as they never yet have been. 



XXXI. 

THE CHEISTIAl^ KEIGHEOEHOOD. 

The spirit of Christian missions to heathen lands and the 
organizations to carry them forward commenced, in most 
Protestant lands, within the last century. The writer can 
remember the time when an annnal collection for domes- 
tic missions was all the call for such benefactions in a 
wealthy l^ew-England parish ; while such small pittances 
were customary that the sight of a dollar-bill in the col- 
lection, even from the richest men of the church-members, 
produced a sensation. 

In the intervening period since that time, the usual mode 
of extending the Gospel among the heathen has been for a 
few of the most self-sacrificing men and women to give up 
country and home and all the comforts and benefits of a 
Christian community, and then commence the family state 
amid such vice and debasement that it was ruinous to 
children to be trained in its midst. And so the result has 
been, in multitudes of cases, that children were born only to 
be sent from parents to be trained by strangers, and the 
true " Christian family" could not be exhibited in heathen 
lands. And as a Christian neighborhood, in its strictest 
sense, consists of a collection of Christian families, . such a 
community has been impossible in most cases among the 
heathen. 

When our Lord ascended, his last command was, " Go ye 
into all the world, and preach the Gospel to ^-yery creature." 
For ages, most Christian people have supposed this command 
was limited to the apostles. In the present day, it has 
been extended to include a few men and women who 
should practice the chief labor and self-sacrifice, while 
most of the church lived at ease, and supposed they were 
obeying this command, by giving a small portion of their 
abundance to support those who performed the chief labor 
and self-sacrifice. 



FBONTIER EDIFICE. 339 



But a time is coming when Christian churches will iinder- 
stand this command in a much more comprehensive sense ; 
and the " Christian family" and " Christian neighborhood" 
will be the grand ministry of salvation. In order to assist 
in making this a practicable anticipation, some additional 
drawings are given in this chapter. The aim is to illustrate 
one mode of commencing a Christian neighborhood that is 
so economical and practical that two or three ladies, with 
very moderate means, could carry it out. 

A small church, a school- house, and a comfortable family 
dwelling may all be united in one building, and for a very 
moderate sum, as will be illustrated by the following ex- 
ample. 

At the head of the first chapter is a sketch which repre- 
sents a perspective view of the kind of edifice indicated. On 
the next page (Fig. 68) is an enlarged and more exact 
view of the front elevation of the same, which is now build 
ing in one of the most Southern States, where tropical plants 
flourish. The three m agnificent trees on the drawing heading 
the first chapter are live-oaks adorned with moss, rising over 
one hundred feet high and being some thirty or more feet 
in cu'cumf erence. JSTearly under their shadow is the build- 
ing to be described. 

Fig. 69 is the ground plan, which includes one large room 
twenty-five feet wide and thirty-five feet long, having a bow- 
window at one end, and a kitchen at the other end. The 
bow- window has folding-doors, closed during the week, and 
within is the pulpit for Sunday service. The large room 
may be divided either by a movable screen or by sliding- 
doors with a large closet on either side. The doors make 
a more perfect separation ; but the screen afibrds more room 
for storing family conveniences, and also secures more per- 
fect ventilation for the whole large room by the exhaust-flue. 

Thus, through the week, the school can be in one division, 
and the other still a sizable room, and the kitchen be used 
for teaching domestic economy and also for the eating-room. 
On Sunday, if there is a movable screen, it can be moved 
back to the fire-place ; or otherwise, the sliding-doors may 
be opened, giving the whole space to the congregation. The 
chimney is finished off outside as a steeple. It incloses a 
cast-iron or terra cotta pipe, which receives the stove-pipe of 
the kitchen and also pipes connecting the two fire-places 
with the large pipe, and finds exit above the slats of the 



Fig. 68. 




THE TWO FLOORS. 



341 



steeple at the projections. Thus the chimney is made an 
exhaust-shaft for carrying off vitiated air from all the 
rooms both above and below, which have openings into it 
made for the purpose. 

Two good-sized chambers are over the large lower story, 

as shown in Fig. 70. 
^^s- ^^' Large closets are each 

side of these chambers, 
where are slatted open- 
ings to admit pm-e air; 
and under these open- 
ings are registers placed 
to enable pure air to 
pass through the floor 
into the large room be- 
low. Thus a perfect 
mode of ventilation is se- 
cured for a large num~ 
ber. 

On Sunday, the fold- 
ing-doors of the bow- 
window are to be opened 
for the pulpit, the slid- 
ing-doors opened, or the 
screen moved back, and 
camp - chairs brought 
from the adjacent closet 
to seat a congregation of 
worshipers. 

During the week, the 
family work is to be 
done in the kitchen, and 
the room adjacent be 
used for both a school 
and an eating -room. 
Here the aim will be, 
during the week, to col- 
lect the children of the 
neighborhood, to be taught not only to read, wi'ite, and 
cipher, but to perform in the best manner all the practical 
duties of the family state. Two ladies residing in this 
building can make an illustration of the highest kind of 
" Christian family," by adopting two orphans, kee^^ing in 




342 



COST OF BUILDING. 



training one or two servants to send out for tlie benefit of 
other families, and also providing for an invalid or aged 
member of Christ's neglected ones. Here also they conld 
employ boys and girls in 
various kinds of floricul- ^^s- "^o. 

ture, horticulture, bee- 
raising, and other out- 
door employments, by 
v^hich an income could 
be received and young 
men and women trained 
to industry and thrift, so 
as to earn an indepen- 
dent livelihood. 

This attempt has sue- 
fully been made where, 
in a very large circuit, 
with a thriving popula- 
tion, there is an utter 
destitution of both 
churches and schools. 

Such a building will 
uuite more convenien- 
ces, and at far less ex- 
pense than is required 
for separate church, 
school-hoiise, and dwell- 
ing-house, even of the 
plainest kind. The ex- 
periment is certainly 
promising enough to be 
tried. 

Such destitute settle- 
ments abound all over 
the West and South, 
w^hile, along the Pacific 

coast, China and Japan are sending their pagan millions to 
share our favored soil, climate, and government. 

Meantime, throughout our older States are multitudes of 
benevolent, well-educated. Christian women in unhealthful 
factories, ofiices, and shops ; and many, also, living in refined 
leisure, who yet are pining for an opportunity to aid in 
carrying the Gospel to the destitute. I^othing is needed but 




A CHEISTIAN FAMILY. 343 



funds tliat are in the keeping of thonsands of Christ's pro- 
fessed disciples, and organizations for this end, which are 
at the command of the Protestant clergy. 

Let snch a truly " Christian family" be instituted in any 
destitute settlement, and soon its gardens and fields would 
cause " the desert to blossom as the rose," and around would 
soon gather a " Christian neighborhood." The school-house 
would no longer hold the multiplying worshipers. A cen- 
tral church would soon appear, with its appended accommo- 
dations for literary and social gatherings and its appliances 
for safe and healthful amusements. 

The cheering example would soon spread, and ere long 
colonies from these prosperous and Christian communities 
would go forth to shine as " lights of the world" in all the 
now darkened nations. Thus the " Christian family" and 
" Christian neighborhood" would become the grand ministry, 
as they were designed to be, in training our whole race 
for heaven. 

This final chapter should not close without a few encou- 
raging words to those who, in view of the many difiicult 
duties urged in these pages, sorrowfully review their past 
mistakes and deficiencies. None can do this more sincerely 
than the wi'iter. How many things .have been done un- 
wisely even with good motives ! How many have been 
left undone that the light of present knowledge would have 
secm^ed ! 

In this painful review, the good old Bible comes as the 
abundant comforter. The Epistle to the Romans was 
written especially to meet such regrets and fears. It 
teaches that all men are sinners, in many cases from igno- 
rance of what is right, and in many from stress of tempta- 
tion, so that neither Greek nor Jew can boast of his own 
righteousness. For it is not " by works of righteousness " 
that we are to be considered and treated as righteous per- 
sons, but through a "faith that worhs hy love ^''^ that faith 
or helief which is not a mere intellectual conviction, but a ccn- 
trolling piirpose or spiritual principle which habitually con- 
trols the feelings and conduct. And so long as there is 
this constant aim and purpose to obey Christ in all things, 
mistakes in judgment as to what is right and wrong are 
pitied, " even as a father pitieth his children," when from 
ignorance they run into harm. And even the most guilty 



344 TEE DAWNING DAT, 



transgressors are freely forgiven when truly repentant and 
faithfully striving to forsake the error of their ways: 

Moreover, this tender and pitiful Saviour is the Almighty 
One who rules both this and the invisible world, and who 
" from every evil still educes good." This life, is but the 
infant period of our race, and much that we call evil, in 
his wise and powerful ruling may be for the highest good 
of all concerned. 

The Blessed Word also cheers us with pictures of a dawn- 
ing day to which we are approaching, when a voice shall 
be heard under the whole heavens, saying, " Alleluia" — 
" the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of 
our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever 
and ever." And " a great voice out of heaven" will pro- 
claim, *' Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and 
he shall dwell with them, and they shall be his people. 
And God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 
And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes ; and 
there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying; 
neither shall there be any more pain ; for the former things 
are passed away." 

The author still can hear the echoes of early life, when 
her father's voice read to her listening mother in exulting 
tones the poet's version of this millennial consummation, 
which was the inspiring vision of his long life-labors — a 
consummation to which all their children were consecrated, 
and which some of them may possibly live to behold. 



" scenes surpassing fable, and yet true ! 
Scenes of accomplished bliss ! which who can see, 
Though but in distant prospect, and not feel 
His soul refreshed with foretaste of the joy ! 

" Rivers of gladness water all the earth, 
And clothe all climes with beauty; the reproach 
Of barrenness is past. The fruitful field 
Laughs with abundance ; and the land once lean, 
Or fertile only in its own disgrace, 
Exults to see its thistly curse repealed 

" Error has no place : 
That creeping pestilence is driven away ; 
The breath of Heaven has chased it. In the heart 
No passion touches a discordant string. 
But all is harmony and love. Disease 



THE MILENNIAL GLOBY. 345 



Is not : the pure and uncontaminate blood 
Holds its due course, nor fears the frost of age. 
One song employs all nations ; and all cry, 
Worthy the Lamb, for he was slain for us !' 
The dwellers in the vales and on the rocks 
Shout to each other ; and the mountain-tops 
From distant mountains catch the flying joy ; 
Till, nation after nation taught the strain, 
Earth rolls the rapturous hosanna round. 

*' Behold the measure of the promise filled ! 
See Salem built, the labor of a God ! 
Bright as a sun the sacred city shines ; 
All kingdoms and all princes of the earth 
Flock to that light ; the glory of all. lands 
Flows into her ; unbounded is her joy. 
And endless her increase. Thy rams are there, 
Nebaioth, and the flocks of Kcdar there ; 
The looms of Ormus and the mines of Ind, 
And Saba's spicy groves pay tribute there. 

** Praise is in all her. gates : upon her walls, 
And in her streets, and in her spacious courts, 
Is heard salvation. Eastern Java there 
Kneels with the native of the farthest west ; 
And Ethiopia spreads abroad the hand. 
And worships. Her report has traveled forth 
Into all lands. From every clime they come 
To see thy beauty, and to share thy joy, 

, Zion ! an assembly such as earth 
Saw never, such as -Heaven stoops down to see I*' 



Cowper's Tosh, 



ADDRESS OF THE SENIOR AUTHOR 

TO 'I' HK 

FEMALE TEACHERS OF HEE COUE'TRY. 



My Honoeed and Deae Feiekds : 

I address you somewhat as did "Paul tlie aged," when, 
near the close of a life of toil and suffering, he wrote ex- 
ultinglj to his younger co-laborer, " I have fought a good 
fight." It is now nearly half a century since I entered 
the field where you are now toiling ; and the more I have 
labored the more have I rejoiced in the grandeur of our 
calling and its glorious rewards. 

I now ask your aid in an effort to raise still higher the 
influence and the remuneration of our profession. And 
here I quote the words of my associate and sister, Mrs. 
Stowe : 

" We have another thing in the future to wish for, and 
that is, that the department of practical life which hitherto 
has been, and must generally be, woman's favorite, peculiar 
and chosen one, might receive 'the honor of professorships, 
lectures, and scientific treatment, in the same manner as 
those branches which fit men for practical life. 

" The care of a house, the conduct of a home, the care 
of health, and the management of children and servants, 
are just as worthy of scientific treatment and scientific 
professors and lectureships as the care of farms, the con- 
duct of manures and crops, and the raising of stock. 

" Shall man attend a college where a scientific professor 
gives tho philosophic laws of stock-raising, and treats of 



348 ADDBESS OF THE SENIOE AUTHOR 



the diseases of domestic animals and the great natural 
laws by which they are to be kept in health and sound- 
ness, and shall there not be also a professorship to teach 
woman the care of children, the great laws by which 
health, beauty, and mental soundness may be made the 
portion of the growing members of community ? 

" There seems danger sometimes of a general raelee of 
ideas as to what is man's or woman's particular field or 
sphere. One thing, however, is certain, that the raising 
of children will have to be done by women if it is done at 
all, because men usually have no aptitude or skill in that 
line, as the experience of most mothers will bear witness. 

" Women are to rear the children ; and they are either 
to do it ignorantly and blunderingly, or they are to do it in- 
telligently, under the influence of correct scientific know- 
ledge. Therefore, in a college designed for women, there 
always should be a professor of domestic hygiene^ who shall 
expound the laws of health and life to her who is called 
by nature to be their guardian. 

" Again, men are taught agricultural chemistry, to pre- 
pare them wisely and intelligently to conduct the farm. 
In a collegiate course for women, why should there not.be 
a course of instruction on domestic philosopliy and cliemis- 
try f "We can easily sketch out a series of lectures on, 
first, the Chemistry of Cooking ; next. Caloric or Heat 
in relation to domestic life, which would embrace all the 
principles of warming houses, of constructing furnaces, 
stoves, grates, and cooking-ranges, chimneys, and other 
heat-making and carrying arrangements ; lastly. Domestic 
Hydraulics, or the philosophical application of water to 
domestic uses and purposes, including all about wells, 
pipes, boilers, faucets, and those complicated conveniences 
which nowadays keep housekeepers in a state of semi-dis- 
traction ; those who have them not, crazy to get them, 
and those who have them, crazy because they do not know 
how to manage them. 



TO THE TEACHERS OF HEB COUNTRY. 349 



" Again, wliile in men's colleges there are courses of 
lectures on Political Economy, why, in a woman's college, 
shonld there not be a cour&e of lectures on Domestic 
Economy ? Most women* come to tlie task of providing 
for a family in utter ignorance of the science of compara- 
tive values — of the greater or less economies of different 
articles with which they have to deal. 

"But there is a far more important department com- 
mitted to woman, on which no college and no school, that 
we have ever seen or heard of, give her the least aid of 
previous instruction. Woman, as mother and teacher, is to 
form the immortal mind. She, more than any one else, 
decides her helpless children's character, with all its re- 
sults-, in this life and the life to come. Should there not be, 
then, in the training of all women, a course of instruction 
on the principles of education^ as she is to apply them in 
forming both mind and body in future life ? 

" There are many universities in our country where men 
acquire first a literary and then a professional education. 
In Yale, Harvard, and the Cornell University, a student 
studies first for -general expansion and discipline of the 
mind, and then pursues a professional course, by which he 
is fitted to be a lawyer, doctor, or clergyman. But for 
women, as yet, there is not one single professional college 
where she is taught her profession, of taking care of a 
house and home, and rearing and educating children. 

" "Who will endow such a one ? Thousands of dollars 
have been given by women to found professional schools 
for men ; where is the man that will endow a professional 
school for women ?" 

As the consequence of this neglect in training women 
for their proper business, they have not the preparation 
needed in order to earn an independent livelihood. 

The Working- Woman's Protective Union, of E'ew-York 
City, reports that, of thirteen thousand applicants, not 



350 ADDBESS OF TEE SENIOR AUTHOR 



one half were qualified to do any kind of useful work in 
a proper manner. Tlie societies that are formed to furnish 
work for poor women report that their greatest impedi- 
ment is that so few can sew decently, or do any other work 
properly. 

The heads of dress-making establishments report that 
very few women can be found who can be trusted to com- 
plete a dress,, and that those who are competent find abun- 
dant work and good wages. The demand for really supe- 
rior mantua-makers is almost universal in country places, 
and even in many of our cities. 

In former days, sewing was taught in all schools for 
girls; but now it is banished from our common schools, 
and the mothers at home are too neglectful, or too igno- 
rant, or too pressed with labor, to supply the deficiency. 

How much there is included in woman's distinctive and 
appropriate duties, and how much science and practical 
training are demanded properly to prepare for them, few 
realize. The selection, preparation, and care of food and 
drinks for a family are, in Europe, made an art and science, 
to which the most literary and cultivated devote attention. 
The selection, fitting, and making of clothing are other 
branches for which science and training are demanded. 
The care of young infants and the nursing of the mothers 
demand science and practical skill as much as any profes- 
sion of the other sex. The management and governing 
of young children require as much training and, skill as 
the duties of the statesman or warrior. The nursing and 
care of the sick, if performed by conscientious, scientific, 
and well-trained nurses, would save thousands of the vic- 
tims of ignorance and neglect. 

And then there are out-door professions connected with 
a home, which are as suitable for women as for men. The 
business of raising fruits and flowers is especially suited to 
woman, as also the management of the dairy ; and for 
these the other sex are regularly instructed in endowed 



TO THE TEACHERS OF HER COUNTRY. 351 



agricultural schools, while women can not share these 
advantages. The arts that ornament a home, such as 
drawing, painting, sculpture, and landscape gardening, 
are peculiarly appropriate for women as professions by 
which to secure an independence. Yet but a few have 
the opportunities which are abundantly given to the other 
sex. 

These are all employments suited to woman, and such 
as would not take her from the peaceful retreat of a home 
of her own, which by these professions she might earn. 
Were there employments for women honored as matters 
of science, as are the professions of men ; were institutions 
provided to train women in both the science and practice 
of domestic economy, domestic chemistr}^, and domestic 
hygiene, as men are trained in agricultural chemistry, 
political economy, and the healing art ; were there endow- 
ments providing a home and salary for women to train 
their own sex in its distinctive duties, such as the profes- 
sors of colleges gain — immediately a liberal profession 
would be created for women, far more suitable and at- 
tractive than the professions of men. Let this be done, 
and every young girl would pursue her education with an 
inspiring practical end, would gain a profession suited to 
her tastes, and an establishment for herself equal to her 
brothers, while she would learn to love and honor woman's 
profession. 

It would soon become the custom, as it now is in some 
European countries, for every woman to be trained to some 
business that would secure to her honorable independence. 

The grand difficulty, which those who are seeking the 
ballot would remedy, is, the want of honorable and remu- 
nerative employment for unmarried or widowed women. 
It is not clear how the ballot would secure this ; while a 
long time must elapse before public opinion would arrive 
at this result. 

But the attempt- to establish institutions well endowed 



352 ADDBESS OF THE SENIOB AUTHOR 



to support women instructors, and carrying out as liberal 
a course as men have provided for themselves, would have 
an immediate influence, while it would escape the preju- 
dice and the difficulties incident to giving woman the 
ballot. 

Few will deny that the various departments of domestic 
economy demand science, training, and skill, as much as 
any of men's professions. But the world has yet to see 
the ^r5^ invested endowment to secure to woman's profes- 
sion what has been so bountifully given to men. ISTever 
yet has a case been known of a highly- educated Protestant 
woman supported by an endowment to train her sex for 
any one department of woman's profession. Such favors 
being withheld, the distinctive profession of woman is 
undervalued and despised. 

In the Roman Catholic Church, the woman of high posi- 
tion, culture, and benevolence is honored above all others 
if she remains single and devotes her time and wealth to 
orphans, to nurse the sick, to reclaim the vicious, and to 
provide for the destitute. She becomes a lady abbess, or 
the head of some sisterhood, where high position,' influ- 
ence, and honor are her reward. 

And the priesthood of that church employ all their 
personal and official influence to lead women of bene- 
volence and piety to devote time, property, and prayers 
to the salvation of their fellow-creatures from diseases of 
body, ignorance, and sin. But Protestant women, as yet, 
have been influenced to endow institutions for mew, rather 
than for their own sex. The writer obtained from the 
treasurers of only six institutions for men the following 
statement of benefactions from women : 

Miss Plummer, to Cambridge University, to endow one 
professorship, gave $25,000 ; Mary Townsend, for the 
same, $25,000 ; Sarah Jackson, for the same, $10,000 ; 
other ladies, in sums over $1000, to the same, over $30,000. 
To Andover Professional School of Theolo2:Y ladies have 



TO TEE TEACEEES OF EER COTINTBY. 353 



given over $65,000, and of this, $30,000 was from one 
lady. In Illinois, Mrs. Garretson lias given to one profes- 
sional school $300,000. In Albany, Mrs. Dudley has 
given, for a scientific institution for men, $105,000. To 
Beloit College, Wisconsin, property has been given, by one 
lady, valued at $30,000. 

Thus half a million has been given by women to these 
six colleges and professional schools, and all in the present 
century. The reports of similar institutions for men all 
over the nation would show similar liberal benefactions of 
women to endow institutions for the other sex, while for 
their own no such records appear. Where is there a single 
endowment from a woman to secure a salary to a woman 
teaching her own proper profession ? 

But a time is coming when women will honorably per- 
petuate their name and memory by bestowing endowments 
for their own sex, as they have so often done for men. 

The first indication of this advance is the organization 
of an association of prominent ladies and gentlemen, of 
the city of ^ew-York, for the purpose of establishing in- 
stitutions in which highly-edncated women shall be sup- 
ported by endowments to train their own sex for the 
practical duties of the family state, and also to some 
business that will secure to them an independent home 
and income. 

The plan aimed at is large and comprehensive, but will 
commence on a small scale, and be enlarged as means and 
experience shall warrant. When completed, it will include 
these departments : 

1. The Literary Department^ which will embrace a course 
of study and training for the main purpose of developing 
the mental faculties. Much that goes under the head of 
acquiring knowledge will be omitted until it is decided 
what profession the character and tastes of a young girl 
indicate as most suitable. When this is decided, the 
studies and practical training will be regulated with refe- 



354 ADDEESS OF THE SENIOB AUTHOR 



rence to it, and the pupil will select that department of 
general knowledge most connected with her special pro- 
fession. I 

The public mind is fast approaching this method in the 
education of young men who do not aim at what have 
heretofore been called the liberal professions, and who 
enter institutions where the course of study is adapted to 
the profession to be pursued. At the same time, our 
colleges are gradually modifying mediaeval methods to 
those which bear more directly on practical life. 

2. The Domestic Department^ in w^hicli the pupils of the 
literary department will be received, and examined as to 
their practical acquaintance with the varied duties of the 
family state,, aiming to supply every deficiency in past 
training, so as to fit them to be economical, industrious, 
and expert housekeepers. The principal of this depart- 
ment will have a family of about twelve, consisting of her 
assistant principal and ten pupils, who will be carried 
through a regular course of domestic labor and instruction, 
and then vacate their place to another class of pupils. In 
another family, consisting of stationary residents, another 
assistant principal will superintend the training of servants 
to be conscientious and faithful cooks, chambermaids, and 
table-waiters, and will provide suitable places for them 
when trained. 

3. The Health Department^ in which the pupils of the 
literary department will be trailed to preserve their own 
health, and also to superintend the health of a family. In 
this department, the attempt will be made to train scien- 
tific nurses of the sick, monthly nurses of mothers and 
infants, and purses for young children. With the scientific 
training will be combined moral instruction and influences 
to induce the sympathetic, conscientious, and benevolent 
traits so important in these offices. 

While the preparation of women for the full duties of 
the medical profession will be left to medical schools, an 



TO THE TE ACKERS OF HER COUNTRY. 355 



extensive hygienic course of both stndy and training will 
be instituted, for preparing women to superintend the 
health of a family and of communities. It is a singular 
fact that, as yet, there has been no profession whose dis- 
tinctive business it is to preserve public health. The phy- 
sician's profession is to cure, but not to prevent, disease. 
Ordinarily, it is for his professional interest to relieve his 
own patients ; but it is for his personal and pecuniary in- 
terest to have general sickness prevail. This being so, it 
is greatly to the honor of the medical profession that they 
so frequently are leaders in efforts to promote public 
health. This, however, is owing solely to conscience and 
philanthropy, while it is contrary to their pecuniary in- 
terest. 

But there ought to be a learned profession, whose dis- 
tinctive duty shall be to preserve general health, and so 
conducted that both reputation and pecuniary income 
shall depend on their skill and success. This should be 
the profession for which women should be trained, espe- 
cially those who, having charge of schools, can gain access 
to many families, can notice all that tends to injure health, 
and can teach their pupils how to remove the dangers. 

When endowments are provided for the purpose, there 
will be a Sanitarium connected with the Health Depart- 
ment, where patients will be placed in families not exceed- 
ing twelve, and in these families will be trained nurses for 
the sick, and for young infants and their mothers. In this 
Sanitarium, instruction will be given, not only in the va- 
rious modes of preserving health, but in the methods of 
cure by the natural agencies of pure air^ lieat^ light^ ivater, 
exercise^ and proper diet. It was by the scientific use of these 
natural agencies that the writer has been restored to per- 
fect health, after more than twenty years of invalidism, 
caused by overwork of nerves and brain in school duties, 
and during most of that time unable to walk without sup- 
porters. 



356 ADDEESS OF THE SENIOR AUTHOB 



It is hoped that funds will be provided, so that the mul- 
titudes of poor, overworked teachers whose health is be- 
ginning to fail can be received gratuitously, restored to 
health, trained in the course of the Health Department, 
and then returned to their stations to become guardians 
of public health. 

Combined with the training of nurses and servants will 
be arrangements for providing them with good places and 
suitable compensation. 

4. The Normal Department^ with its model Primary and 
Kindergarten schools, in which women will be trained to 
the distinctive duties of a school-teacher. 

5. The Department of the Fine Arts, in which all those 
branches employed in the adornment of a home will 
receive attention ; drawing, painting, sculpture, and land- 
scape gardening, which are peculiarly fitted to be profes- 
sions for women, will be included in this department. 

6. The Industrial Department, the chief aim of which is to 
train women to out-door avocations suited to their sex, by 
which they can earn an honorable independence. The 
raising of fruits and flowers, the cultivation of silk and 
cotton, the growing and manufacture of straw, the superin- 
tendence of dairies and dairy-farms, are all suitable modes 
of earning an independence, and can all be carried on by 
women without any personal toils unsuited to their sex. 
And agricultural schools to train women to the science 
and practice of these occupations are the just due to 
women. 

This plan seeks to avoid the evils incident to institu- 
tions devoid of the chief feature of the family state, which 
is a small number controlled under the influence of warm, 
personal affection. A central building will be provided 
for general gatherings, library, apparatus, and recitation 
rooms. Around it will be dwelling-houses for a family of 
ten or twelve in each, consisting of pupils and the princi- 
pal of some department, with her associate principal at 



TO THE TEACHERS OF HEB COUNTRT. 357 



the Lead. Efforts will also be made to secure the coopera- 
tion of parents in training their offspring bj providing 
suitable adjacent residences. 

It is an unfortunate feature of the teachino^s of some 
who, with the best of motives, are laboring to relieve the 
burdens of their sex, that they assume that the fault rests 
with men, as if thej were in antagonism with woman's 
interests and rights. But in all Christian countries men 
are trained to a tender care of wives, mothers, and sisters, 
and a chivalrous impulse to protect and provide for help- 
less womanhood is often stronger in men than in most 
women who have had no such training. 

The grand difficulty is, that the teachings of our Hea- 
venly Father, as to the care of the feebler members of his 
great family, have been imperfectly realized by women as 
much as by men, and therefore they have never understood 
their rights, nor claimed the advantages which are now 
seen to be their just due. It is certain that just and 
benevolent men feel the wrongs and disabilities of woman- 
hood as much as most women do, and have been as much 
perplexed in seeking the most effective remedy. 

One indication of this readiness to aid woman has 
been manifested in a meeting of !New-York ladies. 
Among the resolutions adopted at this meeting was one 
claiming that women should be trained for their appro- 
priate professions as men are, and that institutions for this 
purpose should be as liberally endowed as are the colleges 
and professional schools for men. This resolution was 
adopted unanimously, and was as unanimously approved 
by the leading papers of the city, both secular and reli- 
gious. 

This universal approval by the public prints of the reso- 
lutions adopted, proves that the most benevolent and 
intelligent minds of both sexes deem it only an act of 
justice to establish institutions for training women to theii 
appropriate professions, which shall be as liberally en 



358 ADDRESS OF TEE SENIOB AUTHOE 



dowed as those for tlie other sex ; and tliat these endow- 
ments shall support well-educated women as liberally as 
the professors of our colleges. 

The preceding discussion enables me to point out the 
mode in which teachers can aid in promoting this plan 
for increasing the honor, profit, and usefulness of our pro- 
fession. The profits of this volume to the authors and, 
after certain sales, the profits now gained by the publish- 
ers, will all be devoted to the endowment of the Health 
Department of the proposed institution, especially that part 
which provides an asylum for female teachers who are 
losing health, or have lost it, where, when restored, 
they can be trained to become guardians of public health. 
The answers to questions at the end of this volume em- 
brace knowledge that is more important to every w^oman's 
happiness and usefulness than any contained in the usual 
scientific and literary training of female schools. Such a 
work introduced into schools, and thus also into families, 
it is believed, would have an immediate and most exten- 
sive influence on public and private health and happiness. 
At the same time, its extensive sale as a school-book would 
endow the Health Department and its Sanitarium for 
teachers, while a successful example would secure similar 

establishments all over the nation. 

Will you, then, help in this great and good enterprise 

which, for more than twenty years, I have been laboring 
to accomplish ? . 

We are now entering upon a great and hazardous ex- 
periment, on which the prosperity and even the existence 
of our country depends. The nations of Europe and Asia 
have but begun that immense flood of emigration that is 
coming by millions ; a large portion to enter our kitchens 
and schools. And the housekeepers and school-teachers 
of our country are to become missionaries, not to foreign 
lands, but to the heathen thronging to our homes and our 



TO TEE TEACHEB8 OF HER COUNTRY. 359 



schools. Oil ! what glorious and yet fearful responsibili- 
ties rest on all of our profession ! 

In addition to using your influence for introducing this 
work into schools, you may, in some cases, ask the attention 
of your clergyman to the first and the last three chapters 
of the work, with the hope that he may thus be induced 
to preach on the design and the duties of the family state. So 
also you may have influence with editors to secure their 
cooperation. 

By inclosing one dollar (half the retail price of the book) 
and your address, carefully written^ to J. B. Ford & Co., 39 
Park Row, I^ew-York City, you will receive a sample 
copy of the work by mail. 

Yery truly your friend, 
, Cathaein^e E. Beechee. 



1^. B. — In a few months will be issued another volume, 
complementary of this, work, entitled The Househeeper and 
Health-Keeper. It will consist of receipts and directions in 
all branches of Domestic Economy, especially in the depart- 
ment of economical and healthful cooking^ most of them 
tested by myself or my sister, especially aiming to econo- 
mize labor. 

Many directions will be given that will save from pur- 
chasing poisonous milk, meats, beers, and other medicated 
drinks. Directions for detecting poisonous ingredients in 
articles for preserving the hair, and in cosmetics for the 
complexion, which now are ruining health, eye-sight, and 
comfort all over the nation, will also be given. 

Particular attention will be given to modes of preparing 
and preserving clothing, at once economical, healthful, and 
in good taste. 



QUESTIOIJS AI^^T) SUGGESTIVE HINTS 

FOE THE USE OF TEACHERS AID PUPILS. 



CHAPTER I. 

THE CHKISTIAN FAMILY. 

What is the chief aim of this volume ? 

What is the end designed by the family state, and what is its distinc- 
tive feature ? 

What are the duties of the father ? the mother ? the older children ? 
and those of all toward the sick and the aged ? « 

What is "the daily discipline of the family, and what would be contrary 
to its first principles ? 

[The questions in italics are designed to promote inquiry and discus- 
sion.] 

What new doctrine was taught ty Jesus Christ as to the character of 
God? Can you find any other religion noiD on earth or in history that 
teaches this doctrine ? Was this doctrine made clearly known to the Jews 
'before Christ came f If God has the cha^racter and feelings of a father 
toward all the huma.n race, how must he regard the wise and strong who 
take no care of the ignorant and weak members of his great earthly 
family? 

In what character did Christ conie, and what does his example teach ? 

In what particulars did he humble himself ? 

How many years did he labor, and how many did he preach ? 

What is the aptest illustration of the kingdom of heaven ? 

Of what is woman the chief minister, and what is her great mission ? 

What is man's department of labor, and what is the great stimulus to 
these toils ? 

How can unmarried women gain the privileges of the family state ? 

Who come the nearest to the All-Perfect ? 

In what did the humility of Christ consist ? 

What is said of the maxims and institutions of this world ? 

What is said of the influence of the Romish Church in relation to the 
fam.ily state? 



362 QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIVE HINTS. 



What has been the influence of laws and customs in regard to manual 
labor as compared with the example of Christ and his apostles ? 

When a mother engages in family work herself and trains her children 
to he her assistants, lohat will he the prohable result in preparing them to 
follow the example of Jesus Christ in a life of self-denying labor for 
others f 

CHAPTER II. 

A CHRISTIAN HOUSE. 

What is meant by " a Christian house " in this chapter ? 

What kinds of outdoor labor are suitable for women ? 

What is the leading aim of the drawings and plans in this chapter, 
both as to furniture and arrangement ? 

What economy of room is shown in the entry ? Are corners usually 
made useful? 

Describe the movable screen ? 

What is the remedy when windows, draicers, or rollers move with much 
friction ? 

What is the advantage of shelf-boxes ? 

What is the most healthful and comfortable kind of mattress ? 

When an old hair-mattress is heat en in the sunlight, a cloud of fine, white 
dust is seen. This is the powdered human scurf-skin, which accumulates in 
most beds and mattresses, while a straw mattress is frequently renewed. 

What is said of the cook's galley in steamers, and the contrast to this 
economy of room seen in most houses ? 

Let the teacher require each pupil to plan a house, and then have the 
class criticise these plans, as respects windows for light, chimneys, venti- 
lation, stairs, and the matching of rooms helow and above. Such exercises 
will prove of far more practicaluse than most school exercises, and at the 
same time cultivate ingenuity and reflection. 

What is the mode by which pure air is brought into every room and 
the impure air emptied out. (See, in addition to this, Cha{)ter XXX.. 
page 338.) 

What is the advantage of corner dressing-tables ? 

What are the uses of the shoe-bag and piece-bag 1 

Describe the plan of the ground-floor, the chambers, and the basement ? 

What are the uses of conservatories ? 

CHAPTER in. 

A HEALTHFUL HOME. 

How are many families poisoned and starved ? 
What are the two modes of feeding the body ? 
What is done to food in the stomach ? 



qUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIVE HINTS. 365 



How are the earth and the air heated ? 

What effect has heat on the air, as respects the holding of moisture ? 

When is air saturated with water ? 

When is air called dry 1 

Does air hold most moisture in a cool or in a hot day ? 

When air holds all the water it can without depositing dew, what is its 
moisture called ? 

When it holds three fourths, or one half, or one fourth, what is its de- 
gree of moisture called 1 

What is the proper range of moisture for health ? 

What is the effect of furnace heat on the air ? 

How does such air affect the lungs, lips, and body ? 

What per cent of moisture is needful for health ? 

What per cent is used by most furnaces, and how does this compare 
with the air of the desert of Sahara ? 

How is this evil to be remedied ? 

What sort of vessel should hold the' water 'to be evaporated? 

Note, — A disagreeable and unhealthy smell is often caused by filth accu- 
mulated in the evaporating-pan of furnaces. 

How much fuel is saved by keeping the air moist, and why is it so ? 

What is the use and construction of the instrument called the hygro- 
deih f 

What is said of carbonic oxide by Prof. Brewer ? 

What other evils result from the use of furnaces ? 

CHAPTER VI. 

HOME DECORATION. 

What is the meaning of (Esthetic f 

What example is given of money expended for neither beauty nor com- 
fort on the outside of a house ? 

What illustration is given of the same inside ? 

What examples are given of beauty by color, curtains, and other cheap 
arrangements ? 

What is said of pictures, cheap frames, and other economic modes of 
ornamenting a home ? 

How is a Ward's case cheaply made ? 

What directions are given for the care of house-plants ? 

CHAPTER Vn. 

THE CARE OF HEALTH. 

What is said of the suffering of a young woman uninstructed as to 
the care of a family ? 
What is the only mode of preparing a woman for these duties ? 



366 QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIVE HINTS. 



By wliat are the first formation and all changes in plants and animals 
accomplished ? 

Describe the process by which an egg is changed to an animal 1 

Where and from what are the cells of animals first formed ? 

What is the difference between the white and the red cells in the 
blood ? 

What are the different powers of blood-cells ? 

What is the different action of animal and vegetable cells ? 

What are the organs by which the mind acts on the body ? 

What are the two kinds of nervous matter ? 

What parts of the nervous system are employed in the sense of feeling, 
and where are they most abundant ? 

Which portion of the nervous system is employed by the mind in mov- 
ing the muscles of the body ? 

How are the nerves of sensation and those of motion united ? 

How does the mind know what is wanted by all parts of the body, and 
by what does it act to gain it ? Give an example. 

What is done by the nerves of involuntary motion ? 

What is the office of the ganglionic system, and why is it also called 
the sympathetic ? 

Where is the nervous power generated ? 

What is the consequence of cutting off a nerve from its connection 
with the nervous centres ? 

What is said of over- work, and want of exercise of brain and nerves ? 

How is over-exercise of brain often indicated ? 

What is the effect of exercising certain portions of the brain to excess ? 

How is paralysis often induced ? 

What is needful for happiness in the use of the brain and nervous 
system ? 

CHAPTER VIIT. 

DOMESTIC EXERCISE. 

How do the muscles appear to the naked eye, and how by means of the 
microscope ? 

What is the peculiar property of the cells forming muscles? 

Explain the cause of the swelling of muscles when used ? 

Which muscles are fl'eiors and which are extensors ? 

How are the muscles fastened to the bones ? 

What is said of the action of the gray and the white matter of the 
brain and nerves ? 

Describe the process by which the mind acts on the muscles by the 
brain and nerves ? 

How are the nerves and brain supplied with nourishment ? 

Explain how exercise quickens the circulation of the blood ? * 



QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIVE HINTS. 367 



What is the effect of want of exercise and of over-exercise on the 
blood-vessels, muscles, and nerves ? 

Why is exercise more healthful when it is interesting ? 

Why is domestic exercise desirable, and how may it he made interest- 
ing, and thus more healthful ? 

CHAPTER IX. 

HEALTHFUL FOOD, 

What responsibility has a housekeeper in regard to providing food ? 

How many simple substances are there ? 

What is the chief element of fat ? of muscle ? of brain and nerves ? of 
the bones ? of blood ? and of teeth, hair, and nails ? 

Of what does the largest part of the body consist ? Of what two gases 
is it composed ? 

How many pounds of solids and how many of liquids are taken daily 
into the stomach of a man weighing fifty-four pounds? How much air 
does he take into the lungs each day ? How much in a year is thus taken 
and then expelled ? 

How must the simple elements be changed before they will nourish the 
body? 

Do animal and vegetable food differ as to the simple elements of which 
they are composed ? 

What is said of the simple elements in a kernel of wheat, as propor- 
tioned to the wants of the body ? 

What is said of fine flour and of unbolted flour ? 

If food does not furnish all the elements needed by the body, what is 
the effect on the appetite and the consequent evil ? 

What does Liebig teach as to the use of potatoes ? 

Why is lean meat needed with potatoes ? 

What grain has more nitrogen than wheat ? 

Where does corn have most carbon, and .why ? 

What mistake is c'ommon in preparing food? 

On what does the proper digestion of food depend ? 

What is the true way to secure both good appetite and good digestion ? 

What is said of rules for invalids ? 

When is carbonaceous food most suitable ? 

What organ of the body is most taxed to throw off excess of carbon ? 

When is " biliousness " most common, and why ? 

To what is the supply of gastric juice proportioned ? 

What is the guide in a healthy state as to the quantity of food needed ? 

What is the immediate, and what the more general consequence when 
too much food is taken ? 

Why should a great variety of tempting food be avoided ? 



368 QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIVE HINTS. 



Why is it "best to have a variety that is successive, and not all at one 
meal? 

How much time must be given for food to digest, and how much for 
rest to the muscles of the stomach ? 

What effect has exercise on the quantity of food needed ? 

When persons have lost the guidance of a healthful appetite, what rule 
la a good one ? 

What is said of stimulating food ? 

What is said of American diet and of the effect of Catholic fasting in 
Lent ? 

What is a good rule for a person whose digestion is poor % 

What are the most unhealthy kinds of food ?. 

What mode of eating is unhealthful, and why ? 

Why should rest folio av a meal ? 

What is said of gradual changes of food? 

What is said of drinks that are very cold or very hot ? 

What is said of fluids in the stomach? 

What is said of highly concentrated food ? 

What is said of unbolted flour in England ? 

What are the chief causes of debility of constitution in regard to food V 

CHAPTER X. 

HEALTHFUL DRINKS, 

What does experience prove as to stimulating drinks, and what evil is 
first mentioned ? 

What is the rule of physiology as to such drinks ? 

What is the second evil ? 

What are the three common modes of stimulating, and in what effect 
are they all alike ? 

What are the two arguments in favor of them, and what is said in op- 
position to these arguments ? 

What facts are revealed by the microscope as to the effects of alcohol ? 

What is said of Liebig's theory, and what are the opinions of the me- 
dical men named ? 

What beverages are perfectly safe ? What are dangerous ? What is 
the rule of wisdom and Christian benevolence in such cases, as illustrated 
by St. Paul ? 

What is again said of the chief end of the family state and woman's 
ministry in it ? 

What drinks are injurious to women? 

What is urged for the good of children ? 

What is said of hot drinks ? 

What does Dr. Combe teach ? 



QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIVE HINTS. 369 



How does tlie stimulus of animal food differ from tliat of alcohol and 
other stimulating drinks ? 

If tea and coffee can not be banished, what other mode of safety should 
be tried ? 

What is said of pure water, and modes of gaining safe and pure drink ? 

What is said of opium and tobacco ? 

What do the principles of Christ teach, in regard to our example, and 
its influence on others, on this subject ? 

CHAPTER XI. 

CLEANLINESS. 

What is the most complicated organ of the^body? 

What does the cuticle consist of, and what is said of it, and also of the 
true skin ? 

What is said of the lymphatic or absorbent vessels f 

What is the use of the oil-vessels ? 

What is said of the perspira'tion-tubes ? 

What is the united length of these tubes, and what is their use ? 

What is the mucous membrane f Where is it? How constructed? 
W hat is its office ? 

What are secreting organs f Which is the largest, and what office does 
it perform ? 

What is the office of the Kidneys f Pancreas f Tear-glands f Salivary 
glands f 

By what are these organs nourished ? ' 

What is the office of the rectum f 

Eight pounds of food and drink are usually taken by a healthy man ; 
how much is discharged by the skin and how much by the lungs ? 

What is the effect on the other organs of a chill that closes the pores 
of the skin ? 

What medical treatment is directed to the skin ? 

What evils must result from neglect of cleansing the skin f 

What is the best mode of curing fevers ? 

How can the skin be sufficiently cleansed without a bath ? 

Wliat is the use of friction on the skin ? 

What caution is needful for nervous children and the aged ? 

What experiments show the economy of proper care of the skin ? 

CHAPTER XII. 

CLOTHING. 

What are the difficulties in regard to dress ? 
What is the best remedy ? 

Describe the construction of the bones ? Cartilages and ligaments ? 
The spine ? 



370 QUESTION'S AND SUGGESTIVE HINTS. 



How is the spine held' in its place ? 

How is the forward curvature of the spine produced, and how the 
lateral f 

What is the consequence of tight dress around the lower ribs ? 

What is said of abdominal breathing ? 

What muscles hold up the interior organs ? What is the consequence 
when they become weak from confinement and disuse in breathing ? 

What beside tight dress increases the pressure of the upper organs on 
the lower ? 

What is the diapTiragm ? What rests on it, and what is beneath it ? 

What muscles support these organs, how are they placed, and what is 
the consequence when they are thrown . out of use ? What is the effect 
often on the stomach, the diaphragm, the heart, the lungs, and the lower 
intestines ? 

Are both sexes mj ured by heavy and tight dress ? What is said of the 
effect on women ? 

What is said of the consequent medical treatment ? 

What is recommended as a substitute for corsets ? 
. What is the chief advantage ? 

How should a young girl's dress be arranged? 

What is said of the exposure of the skin of children to light and air, 
and what cautions are given as to diverse constitutions and care of the 
feet ? 

When is cold air a healthful tonic to the skin and when not ? 



CHAPTER Xin. 

GOOD COOKING-. 

What is the contrast shown between American and European cooking ? 

What is the foundation-article of a good table ? 

What are the several modes of making light bread ? 

What is the most important and critical period in raising bread, and 
what is the consequence of neglect at this point ? 

What is said of baker's bread and also of bread not kneaded ? 

What is the problem of a good hake to bread ? 

What is said of hot breads ? 

What is said of good and bad butter ? • 

What are the ne dful things in order to make good butter ? 

What are the defects in managing meats by butchers and cooks ? 

How do the French economize in meats ? 

What is said of frying ? of soups ? stews ? hashes ? 

What are the best modes of cooking potatoes ? 

What is the best mode of preparing doffee ? tea ? chocolate ? What is 
said of confectionery and spices ? 



QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIVE HINTS. 37l 



CHAPTER XIV. 

EARLY RISING. 



What is the distinctive mark of aristocratic nations ? • 

How is it shown in regard to early rising ? 

How is early rising conformed to the principles both of democracy and 
of Christianity ? 

How does early rising influence health ? What examples are given to 
show the healthful influence of light ? 

What facts in physiology and natural philosophy bear on this subject ? 

How does early rising promote economy ? 

How many hours of sleep are usually needful ? 

What is said by Sir John Sinclair as to the effects of early rising on 
length of life ? 

How does early rising of a housekeeper affect the system and order of 
a family ? 

How does early rising affect the general interest of society ? 

CHAPTER XV. 

DOMESTIC MANNERS. 

Give a definition of good manners ? What do they lead us to avoid ? 

What defect of manners in our forefathers is mentioned ? What were 
its causes ? 

What other causes of defective manners are mentioned ? 

What are the principles of democracy that should regulate the man- 
ners? 

What is the democratic rule in regard to superiors in age and station, 
and to those of feeble strength ? 

What proprieties of deportment and address should be regarded ? 

Where alone can good manners be successfully cultivated ? 

What will secure to woman her true position and rights ? 

What are the relative obligations of husband and wife ? 

What duty does the superior power given to man demand ? 

How is the husband to love and honor the wife ? 

What example should be set by the father and the mother of a family? 

How should boys be trained ? 

In what nations only has man assumed his obligations of self-sacrificing 
benevolence in the family ? 

What is said of the duty of obedience of women who do not marry 
and who earn their own livelihood ? 

What rules of precedence and modes of address should be maintained 
in the family ? 

What other courtesies are mentioned ? 



372 . QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIVE HINTS. 



Wliat violations of propriety and good taste must be avoided ? 

What rules of table manners are to be taught ? 

What disagreeable tricks are to be prevented ? 

What cautions as to patience and gentleness are given ? 

Why may we expect the best manners in our own country ? 

CHAPTER XYI. 

GOOD TEMPER IN THE HOUSEKEEPER. 

What is the influence of gentle tones and cheerful temper in a house" 
keeper ? What contrasts are given to illustrate ? 

What is said of the trials of temper to American housekeepers ? 

What is the first method of lessening these trials? What is the 
second? third? fourth? fifth? sixth? 

What is said of angry tones, and what illustration is given of a better 
way? 

What is said of scolding ? 

What is the last and most important mode of preserving a peaceful 
and cheerful temper ? 

What is said of the influence of religious faith ? 

CHAPTER XVII. 

HABITS OP SYSTEM AND ORDER. 

Why has a housekeeper's business been undervalued ? 

What is the proper estimate of them ? 

What are some of the most important and difficult duties enumerated ? 

How should a woman estimate these duties compared with those usually 
deemed the highest ? 

What habit is most important for a housekeeper on this subject ? 

How is economy of time best secured ? 

What general principle should be the leading one ? 

What is to come as next in importance ? 

What is to be placed as last in value ? 

Is it ever right to injure our own health or best interests ? 

What general plan of systematic use of time is suggested ? 

Is this the usual mode of apportioning time? What should be the 
change ? 

What suggestions are given as to general arrangements of family 
work and the providing o£ conveniences both in the parlor and kitchen ? 

How can children be made useful, and what examples are given ? 

What is said of training boys to some of woman's work, and girls to 
some kind of work usually done by men ? 

What example is given of elder children helping to train the younger ? 



QUS8TI0JVS AND 3UGGSSTIVB HINTS. 373 



Wliat caution is given as to attempting too mucli at once ? 
What is said of early rising ? 

What calculation should be made before mere ornamental work is 
allowed ? 

What effect have habits of system on happiness ? 
What suggestions to young ladies on this duty 1 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

GIVING IN CHARITY. 

Are definite, specific rules for dispensing charities attainable ? 

Can a worldly spirit gain any right course on this subject ? 

What is indispensable to correct views and practice ? 

What mistaken view have many professed Christians ? 

On what does true happiness mainly depend ? 

What character is indispensable to true happiness ? 

What is the grand peculiarity of the character of Jesus Christ ? 

If self-denying benevolence is cultivated, what will be the final result 
on our own happiness ? 

How is self denial for the good of others to be regarded ? 

Why are the rich less likely than the poor to attain the happiness 
gained by benevolent self-denial ? 

What is an important distinction in reference to self-denial ? 

For attaining a perfect character what must we aim at, instead of ex- 
terminating any principles of our nature ? 

What specific cases are mentioned where we should aim to regulate 
and not to destroy natural traits ? 

What is said of envy and other bad passions ? 

What is mentioned as the third consideration in regard to the appor- 
tionment of means? 

How are we to test the wisdom of any general rule ? 

What would be the result of a rule giving up all superfluities ? 

What is the more rational method ? 

Are we ever obligated to do what is out of our power ? 

Are we bound to aim at a good method even if we can not fully attain it ? 

What systematic mode of arranging expenditures is suggested ? ^Vhat 
are the difficulties, and how are they to be met ? 

Are we blameworthy for unfortunate results when we have acted ac- 
cording to the best knowledge and judgment we can gain ? 

What are often considered as duties which are not so ? 

What is to be sought " first of all," for others as well as for self ? 

Who is " our neighbor," according to Christ's teachings ? 

What general principle must guide in selecting who shall receive our 
charities ? ' -v 



374 QTTESTIONS AND SUGGESTIVE HINTS. 



What is tlie best mode of helping the poor? 

What is said of associated charities ? 

What is said of indiscriminate alms to beggars ? 

What good system for dispensing charity wisely is mentioned? 

What species of " charity " is mentioned last and as very important ? 



CHAPTER XIX. 

ECONOMY OF TIME AND EXPENSES. 

What does Christianity teach as to the wasting of time ? 
■ Is needful rest or needful amusement a waste of time ? 

In what (Iocs true economy of time consist ? 

W]ip.t miF^takes are made in gratifying the appetite? 

In jrratifying all implanted desires, how are we to be restrained ? 

What was the main object of God in dealing with the Israelites ? 

Why were they confined to one country and forbidden to engage in 
commerce ? 

Why were the rewards and penalties of their laws temporal ? 

Can you find passages in the Bible proving that the Israelites believed in 
the immortality of man and in a future state, where it would be well with 
the righteous and ill with the wicked ? 

How much property was required of the Jews to support teachers of 
religion and the poor ? 

How much time was required for religious observances ? 

What temporal rewards were promised for obedience to God's temporal 
laws, and when and how were they fulfilled ? 

What higher responsibilities of man to his fellow-men were taught 
when Christ came ? 

Was the fatherhood of God to all mankind ever taught before Christ 
came, in any age or nation ? 

Did Christ teach the dangers of men in a future life as was never 
taught so clearly before ? 

How do the doctrines of danger to all men and of the brotherhood of man 
increase the obligations for benevoUnt efforts to serve men f How is the 
rule of duty to man modified ? 

Will not those who practically believe that all men are God's dear chil- 
dren, and in great danger in the life to come, have a standard of labor 
and self-denial above what was required of the Jews ? 

What is the advantage of unequal distribution of property ? 

When men have large means, how is the best way to employ them for 
the good of others ? 

What is the common mistake of the rich ? 

What examples are given of a contrary course ? 



QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIVE HINTS. 375 



What is said 6i economy of time and money in the style of living in 
the family state ? 

What are the two opposite courses, and what are their rewards ? 



CHAPTER XX. 

HEALTH OF MIND. 

What is said of the connection of mind and body ? 

How is the brain affected by emotion or by intellectual effort ? 

What is often the first cause of mental disease ? Its effects in cham- 
bers, churches, and school-rooms ? 

What is another cause of mental disease and what illustrations are 
given ? 

What is said of precocious children and college students ? 

What is said of excessive action of the imagination ? 

What is said of inactivity of mind as a cause of mental disease ? What 
class is most liable to it ? 

What is the effect of high mental culture unemployed in noble aims ? 

What great advantage for health of mind has the truly ChriBtian 
woman ? 

CHAPTER XXI. 

THE CARE OF INFANTS. 

What views of Herbert Spencer are presented ? 

What advice from Dr. Combe ? 

What is said of giving food to infants, and of their treatment at birth ? 

What is said of a nursing mother's diet ? 

What is Dr. Combe's advice as to giving medicine to infants ? 

What directions are given as to the food for an infant ? 

What is said of pure air by Dr. Bel] ? 

What directions about riding, care of eyes and head ? 

How should the infant's skin and hair be treated ? 

What advice as to warmth, covering the head when sleeping, and 
walks abroad ? 

What advice as to cool bathing ? 

Directions for an irritable stomach ? 

What advice as to forming habits of infancy ? 

What is said of infants' teething, and their treatment ? 

What symptoms of disease are mentioned, and what treatment recom- 
mended ? 

What evil results from want of care of the teeth in childhood, and 
what advice is given ? 

What method of treating infant fevers is recommended ? 



376 QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIVE HINTS. 



What food is recommended for infant constipation ? 

What is to be done for infant diarrhea ? 

What is to be done in all cases of fever, and by what medical authority ? 

CHAPTER XXII. 

MANAGEMENT OF YOUNG- CHILDKEN. 

What error in the diet of young children is mentioned ? 

What example is given of the treatment in an orphan asylum ? 

What is the evil to children of eating often, and what advice is given ? 

What is said of dangers in schools? 

What method is suggested for the training of children to benevolence 
and self-denial ? 

What are the two extremes as to enforcing obedience which should be 
avoided? 

What is the safe medium course ? 

What caution is needed for very sensitive children ? 

What advantage comes from joining in the sports of children? 

What is said. of unsteady government and of over-government f 

What maxim for governing children wisely is first mentioned ? What 
three other maxims are given ? 

What caution is given in regard to heedless and awkward children ? 

What is said of the dangers of great indulgence and the importance of 
cultivating habits of self denial ? 

What is said of habits of honesty and modesty, 'and the dangers to be 
escaped ? 

What is said of early religious training ? 

CHAPTER XXIII. ^ 

DOIVIESTIC AMUSEMENTS AND SOCIAL DUTIES. 

What are the good effects of suitable recreations ? 

What classes especially need them ? 

What is the only legitimate object of all amusements? How do 
amusements become sinful ? 

What is the first rule for selecting them ? The next rule ? The third 
rule ? 

What is said for and against dancing ? 

What is said of Christ's teachings and example ? 

What was the example of our Puritan forefathers ? 

What is said of novel-reading, and who should seek and who avoid it ? 

What is the best mode of cultivating a taste for suitable reading ? 

What family amusements are recommended ? 

What is said of laughter ? 



qiTESTIONS AND STTGQESTrVE HINTS. ^"J^J 



How should meclianical skill be cultivated in boys, and bow in girls ? 
What mistake of business-men is pointed out ? 

What example is given for keeping up family intercourse and interests ? 
"What is said of the duty of hospitality and attention to strangers ? " 
What is the most agreeable mode of treating visitors ? 

CHAPTER XXiy. 

CARE OF THE AGED. 

What design is illustrated by continued life to the infirm and aged ? 
What are the trials of the aged ? 

Why is it a blessing to any family to have the aged and infirm with 
them? 

How should they be treated and how assured of their usefulness ? 

What is another mode of cheering the aged ? 

What courtesies should be carefully cultivated toward the aged ? 

How should their mental faculties be preserved ? 

What tends to hasten decay and create acerbity ? 

What caution is important as to preserving animal heat in the aged ? 

What is said of poor and useless relatives ? 

What is said of the Chinese, and their probable influence in our nation ? 

CHAPTER XXY. 

THE CAKE OP SERVANTS. 

What is the proper meaning of the word lady, and how came it to pass 
that America is the only country where ladies do their own work ? What 
was the result on health and enjoyment ? 

How do cultivated women economize labor ? 

What would be the benefit if every young woman was trained to do 
housework properly ? 

What is the first business of an American housekeeper ? 

What is said of bread-making ? 

What other lessons must be given to servants ? 

What have been the benefits and mistakes of the Woman's Rights 
movement ? 

How has it come to pass that the daughters of laborers and artisans 
have more schooling in New-England and other parts than their bro- 
thers? 

How has domestic service in America become unpleasant, and with 
less of mutual kindness than in other countries ? 

What evil results have thus accrued to women who must support 
themselves ? 

How should employers seek to remedy the evils of domestic service ? 



378 QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIVE HINTS. 



What missionary service is open to most American housekeepers, and 
how should they meet it ? 

What is said of high wages to servants, and of their love of change ? 

How are defects in dress, manners, and habits to be wisely met ? 

What advice is given as to the duties of patience and meekness ? 

What is the proper course toward those servants trained in a faith dif- 
fering from that of their employers. 

What style of housekeeping is most suitable to the condition of Ame- 
rican society? 

What is said of neighborhood laundries ? 

What is the closing counsel to employers ? 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

CARE OF THE SICK. 

What is said of the example of Jesus Christ in regard to the sick? 

What are the two hurtful extremes in family illnesses ? 

What two chief causes of illness in families, and what are the best 
simple remedies ? 

What advice is given by Dr. Burne and Dr. Combe ? 
, What should be considered when medicines are to, be given ? 

What advice is given in the foot-note ? 

What simple methods are best for colds in the head and on the lungs ? 

How can a cold be ordinarily arrested ? • " 

Should food be taken when the appetite ceases ? 

What is said of pure air and ablutions for the sick ? 

How should a room for the sick be provided ? 

What is very important to those of delicate constitution ? 

What is said of animal heat ? 

What other specific directions are given for nursing the sick ? 

What advice is given by Miss Preston ? 

What plea is made for nervous patients ? 

What more is said by Miss Preston of the character and value of a good 
nurse ? 

How should children be trained to minister to the sick ? 

CHAPTER XXVII. 

ACCIDENTS AND ANTIDOTES. 

What is to be done for cuts? bruises? burns? sprains? drowning? 
What are antidotes for the several poisons mentioned? What is to be 
done in thunderstorms and in case of a fire in the house ? What cau- 
tions as to reading in bed, and when the clothes are on fire ? 



qiTESTIONS AND SUGGESTIVE HINTS. 379 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

SEWING, CUTTING, AND MENDING. 



In what respect are American customs peculiarly Ch.ristian ? 

How is labor divided according to the Christian view of the family 
Btate 1 

What is said of the hardest housework for women ? 

What improvement will remedy a certain diflBculty mentioned ? 

What economic benefits will result from teaching boys to do woman's 
work ? 

What have been the chief obstacles in introducing sewing into common 
schools ? 

What methods are proposed as the remedy ? 

What is said of English ladies of wealth, and what is it hoped Ameri- 
can ladies will do ? 

What is said of sewing-machines ? 

How may all women become truly independent ? 

What institutions should be provided for this end ? 

CHAPTER XXIX. 

WAKMING AND VENTILATION. 

What is said of the difficulty of warming and ventilation, and the 
failures ? 

Why is the thermometer not an exact index of the heat of air ? 

What is the advantage of cool air to breathe ? 

What is the most healthful mode of warming, and what difficulty does 
it involve ? 

What are the most popular methods of warming, and what are the 
objections to each ? 

What is shown by the microscope as to fermentation ? 

What are zymotic diseases ? 

What are endemic diseases ? Contagious or infectious f Epidemic f 
What are supposed to be the causes of these diseases ? 

On what does the power of resisting disease depend ? 

To what is the fatality of diseases proportioned ? What is said of the 
plague of London ? 

By what are sickness and death regulated ? 

What do investigations in Great Britain show ? What are shown by 
Philadelphia statistics ? 

What is said of the diffusion of gases in reference to carbonic acid ? 

How are we to proportion the air admitted for ventilation ? 

How many hogsheads of air should enter and be discharged each hour 
into a room holding five hundred persons ? A thousand ? 



380 QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIVE HINTS. 



Wliat is the Leeds plan of ventilation, and how accomplished ? 

What is the aim of the plans of houses and ventilation given in this work ? 

How is air admitted and discharged in the Cottage plan in Chapter II. ? 
How are the large rooms ventilated? How chambers on the second 
floor, and small chambers ? How is the basement lighted and ventilated ? 

How can the rain be kept out when a window is sunk at the top ? 

When air is admitted by the windows how large an opening is needed 
for each person, and what should be the size of openings into the ex- 
hausting air-flue ? 

When is the most difiicult time for good ventilation ? What is then 
indispensable ? 

What instrument shows the amount of moisture as well as of the heat 
in the air ? 

What is said of carbonic oxide ? 

How is economy of heat secured in this Cottage plan, and how also the 
economy of time, labor, and expense ? 

What is said of a central chimney ? Projections ? Dormer windows ? 

What school exercise is recommended? 

What is a sure mode of ventilation at all times ? 

When a room has an open fireplace that draws well in all weathers, 
how can it be properly ventilated ? 
■ What is said of gas-stoves ? 

What fatal elements are mentioned as very cqmmon with heating and 
cooking-stoves ? 

CHAPTER XXX. 

CABE OF THE IGNORANT, THE HOMELESS, THE HELPLESS, AND THE 

VICIOUS. 

What is the .end for which God instituted the family state ? 

How does each human being commence existence ? To what is this 
introductory? 

What are Christ's teachings as to the dangers of the life to come, and 
how are they illustrated ? 

In what are the worldly and the Christian family alike ? In what do 
theydifler? 

What illustration is given to show that danger changes the rules of 
duty ? What was the grand aim of Christ's mission ? What did he first 
teach clearly ? 

What is said of the first followers of Christ and of our own present 
similar duty ? 

In what does the chief glory of God consist, and what command relates 
to it? 

What is said of faith in God ? 

What is said of the diverse rules of right and wrong ? How are they 
illustrated "? 



QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIVE HINTS. 381 



Wliat is stated by the Board of Massachusetts State Charities as to their 
management, and what is suggested as a better way to manage them 1 

For what good end are the aged, the orphans, and the helpless pre- 
served in life ? How is this benefit lost ? 

What is plainly taught of the followers of Christ in the New Testament? 

What are two distinctive virtues of Christ and his followers ? 

What have been the worldly aims of mankind, and what did Christ teach 
in regard to them ? 

What was taught by him to an ambitious mother ? 

What did he teach as to high position and the desire to be counted wise ? 
How as to wealth ? 

What is said of laying up wealth for children ? 

What alone are treasures in heaven ? 

What crisis is at hand ? 

For what purpose are the plans and drawings of this chapter given ? 
What are the chief points aimed at ? Describe the plans ? 

What example is given of a Christian lady, and what similar mode of 
benevolence is suggested ? 

What is said of those who can not practice such benevolence ? 

What is said of the true mode of happiness for which we are created ? 

What does the Bible teach of a great emergency, and what should be 
our share in it ? 

What is enquired as to the feelings and practice of a large part of the 
church ? 

What is one mode of avoiding self-denial in the style of living ? 

What is said of the fine arts ? 

What is said of the comparative situation of women in the Catholic and 
Protestant churches ? 

What is predicted as in the future for women ? 

What is said of married and single women as to comparative advantages 
for doing good and gaining true happiness ? What text teaches the same ? 

CHAPTER XXXI. 

THE CHRISTIAK NEIGHBORHOOD. 

What is said of the commencement of Christian missions and the bene- 
factions for them ? What is the present mode ? 

How have the family state and Christian neighborhood been affected by 
this mode of conducting missions ? 

What is the aim in the drawings of this chapter ? 

Describe the plan of a house suited for church, school-hou^e, and dwell- 
ing-house ? 

What is said of the West and South ; and of Christian women ? What 
is needed ? 

What could a small Christian neighborhood accomplish ? 



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